65: Heavenly Ruins Immortal City

[Fortunately, Teleportation Arrays have been built between all the major cities, allowing one to cross tens of thousands of light-years in the blink of an eye.]

[If it weren't for the fact that over all these years, world after world has continuously built such a massive teleportation network, trying to get from one end to the other would be nothing but a dream.]

[And so you asked, "Then may I ask, Fairy, how should I go about getting there?"]

[Fairy Zhiyun brewed a cup of tea for you and said with a smile, "There is a Teleportation Plaza in the center of the city. There are nine Teleportation Arrays there, each leading in nine different directions."]

["You can first teleport to Nine Heavens Immortal City, where the Nine Heavens Heavenly Palace is located, and then transfer from there to Heavenly Ruins Immortal City."]

["Heavenly Ruins Immortal City is close to the Demon Domain. You can board a spirit boat there to quietly enter the Demon Domain."]

[You suddenly remembered that during the fourth simulation, you had killed a Yao Beast and obtained a crimson Demon Core.]

[So you asked, "The major Immortal Families should have raised their own Demon Kings, right?"]

[Fairy Zhiyun gave a faint smile. "Demon Kings are the treasures of the major Immortal Families. If you were to kill one they raised, those powerful Cultivators would immediately sense it and rush over to take your life."]

[She added, "Most of the Yao Beasts on the border of the Demon Domain only have the strength of Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment. The strongest are merely Golden Core Realm Demon Kings, making it relatively much safer."]

["Moreover, the border of the Demon Domain doesn't just have Demon Cores; there are other Opportunities as well. I suggest you stay for a longer period, otherwise, you won't even earn back the teleportation fees for the round trip."]

[Listening to her speak, you felt that something wasn't quite right. You instinctively felt uneasy about unfamiliar places.]

[But the Yao Beasts of the Liu Clan Immortal Family were all kept by that boy inside a grotto-heaven magical treasure—if they aren't released, where would a Demon King come from?]

[For the Liu Clan Immortal Family, obtaining a Demon Core is as easy as turning over a hand, but for you, you have to risk your life for it. The gap is truly too vast.]

[After thinking it over, you bid her farewell and left. You returned to the Jiang Residence to pack your things and then set off.]

[Arriving at the Teleportation Plaza, you saw that the entire square was a sea of people.]

[The nine Teleportation Arrays were breathtakingly magnificent, each at least as large as ten football fields.]

[You walked to the front of the array leading to Nine Heavens Immortal City and were instantly dazed.]

[The array was based on Ten-Thousand-Year Stellar Iron, etched with complex silver spatial runes. These patterns flowed slowly as if they were alive, occasionally spitting out tiny spatial sparks.]

[Standing at the edges were nine hundred-meter-tall Void Crystal Pillars. Floating atop each pillar was a black hole core that continuously collapsed and was Rebirth, emitting heart-palpitating spatial fluctuations.]

[Such a massive Teleportation Array could transport hundreds of thousands of people at once.]

[Teleporting to Nine Heavens Immortal City cost ten thousand Spirit Stones per person.]

[You still had 145,000 Spirit Stones on hand—the extra was the profit from the Jiang Clan Merchant House over these years.]

[However, ever since Zhong Linger achieved a Breakthrough to the Golden Core, the profits she gave you had decreased. You suspected she was pocketing them privately.]

[Sure enough—over time, people's hearts change.]

[But right now, you had no mind to audit her accounts.]

[After paying the ten thousand Spirit Stones, you squeezed into the crowd, being herded onto the Teleportation Array like a flock of sheep.]

[You couldn't help but marvel: Isn't this one Teleportation Array making too much money? A single day's profit might be more than one could earn in a lifetime.]

[No, not a day; the profit from just one teleportation is enough to make a fortune.]

[Just as the Teleportation Array was about to activate, you realized you had oversimplified things.]

[Above the array, one hundred and eight Golden Core Cultivators hovered in the air forming hand seals. The Lifebound Treasures they summoned were all spatial Magical Artifacts like Void-Piercing Shuttles and Star-Fixing Compasses.]

[They simultaneously performed incantations, and the Golden Core power around them surged out like a flood—]

["Activate the Array!"]

[Following the command, the light from all the Magic Treasures flared violently, turning into one hundred and eight gold and silver beams of light that slammed into the array nodes.]

[The entire plaza began to vibrate violently. The black hole cores atop the nine crystal pillars suddenly expanded, tearing open a distorted Void passage. Within the passage, countless stars flew past like meteors.]

[You were swept up by the massive spatial power and thrown into the passage, feeling for a moment as if you had fallen into a kaleidoscope.]

[You were completely awestruck—]

[The nebulae on both sides flowed like splashed paint. The fiery red clouds of galaxies seemed to brush past your fingertips, yet they shattered at a touch. The light of distant supernova explosions was so slow it seemed like frozen gold.]

[Your body decomposed and reorganized in absolute silence, yet your consciousness was exceptionally clear. You watched with your own eyes as the tips of your hair turned into starlight debris, only to reconsolidate not far away.]

[Only now did you understand that those ten thousand Spirit Stones didn't just buy a teleportation—it was clearly a fantastical journey across the sea of stars!]

[You couldn't help but sigh—this money was truly well-spent!]

[Half an hour later, you landed in a daze, appearing within a giant Teleportation Array in Nine Heavens Immortal City.]

[An urging voice came from the air: "Don't just stand there in a daze, hurry out of the array!"]

[Hundreds of thousands of people bustled off the Teleportation Array.]

[Standing in the magnificent Nine Heavens Immortal City, you felt only lost and lonely. You were in no mood to admire this immortal city and walked straight toward the Teleportation Array for Heavenly Ruins Immortal City.]

[Paying another ten thousand Spirit Stones, you once again experienced the wondrous sight from before—]

[This time, you spent an hour in the Void passage before finally arriving at Heavenly Ruins Immortal City.]

[As soon as you appeared in the Teleportation Array of Heavenly Ruins Immortal City, you felt a wave of chilliness hit your face.]

[The entire immortal city was shrouded in a cold, dark night, with only sparse starlight dotting the firmament.]

[You followed the flow of people and slowly walked out of the Teleportation Array.]

[All sorts of shouting and hawking in the plaza reached your ears:]

["Hunting party heading to Flowing Cloud Ferry in the Demon Domain, just need one more person, setting off immediately!"]

["Extra, extra! A beast tide has broken out on the Heavenly Profound Continent. Fellow Daoists who want to go, come and sign up quickly!"]

["Anyone interested in exploring the Purple Micro Star? We're still missing one Fellow Daoist..."]

[The sounds of hawking, team-forming, smuggling, and adventuring rose and fell, filling the entire plaza.]

[You had long heard that Heavenly Ruins Immortal City is the immortal city closest to the Demon Domain.]

[In the vicinity of this starry sky, hundreds of millions of Star Continents floated.]

[You looked up; most of the stars were dim and devoid of light.]

[Those dim stars had already been reduced to ruins due to years of battles between Cultivators and Yao Beasts.]

[The stars that still emitted a faint glow indicated they were still being held by human Cultivators and had not yet fallen.]

[However, such stars were few and far between.]

[In this firmament, perhaps over ninety percent of the Star Continents had already been shattered and desolated.]

[The reason Heavenly Ruins Immortal City could remain safe and sound all this time was entirely due to the five top-tier factions sending experts to guard it.]

[Only this made those powerful Yao Beasts not dare to approach at all.]

[Not only that, but Heavenly Ruins Immortal City was also equipped with a 'Heaven-Deceiving Array.']

[The array consisted of three hundred and sixty sky-reaching giant pillars, their bodies carved with forbidden runes that stole the secrets of heaven, making it impossible for Yao Beasts to find this place.]

[At this time, a young woman approached you: "Fellow Daoist, are you interested in going to hunt a few Demon Kings together?"]