Chapter 39: Truly Need to Protect Myself
Rain Terrace Blessed Land’s new location was unfamiliar to Mingyan. Before his departure, Liu Yunfeng had given him a map.
Shortly after leaving, Mingyan took out the map, but it was flawed, lacking north and south markings, nearly causing him to get lost. Fortunately, after daybreak, he found a main road and asked a passerby for directions, finally confirming his bearings.
After marking north and south on the map, Mingyan resumed his journey.
According to the map, he needed to follow this road northeast, passing through over a dozen towns, to reach the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land.
The passerby who helped him had offered to travel together, but Mingyan declined. The man wasn’t a cultivator. Traveling with him would take over a month to reach the Sacred Land, a journey that would only take Mingyan a few days.
After parting ways, Mingyan increased his speed.
The autumn wind rustled the trees lining the road, scattering golden leaves, creating a desolate atmosphere.
He traveled through the forest beside the road to avoid alarming passersby with his speed.
These mortal roads were scarce in spiritual energy, and cultivators rarely appeared here. Only those who used their cultivation for personal gain would show themselves before mortals.
Sects, Sacred Lands, and Blessed Lands all had rules against this, but whether their disciples obeyed them depended on the individual. Often, these rules were overlooked.
Mingyan moved swiftly through the forest, leaping over a dozen meters with each step, heading towards the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land.
He used spiritual energy to enhance his speed; his physical strength alone wasn’t enough to cover such distances.
Using spiritual energy made him much faster, but the sparse energy in this area limited him. He also needed to conserve energy for emergencies, so he couldn’t maintain his maximum speed. He would travel quickly for a while, then stop to recover his spiritual energy.
After two days of travel, he reached the midway point of his journey: Nan Ming City, a city built by cultivators.
Although built and primarily inhabited by cultivators, the city was also open to mortals. However, they rarely came here, knowing they would be treated with disdain by the arrogant cultivators, who often saw mortals as no different from ants, their lives worthless and undeserving of respect.
Naturally, mortals avoided such cultivator-centric towns.
As Mingyan approached the city, he sensed the denser spiritual energy, almost comparable to the former Rain Terrace Blessed Land.
According to the map, this city was also a cultivation power, albeit with a unique system.
The city lord was the leader of this power and also accepted disciples, similar to a Blessed Land, but with different titles and hierarchies.
There were no guards at the gate, so Mingyan entered directly. He planned to rest here, gather information, and then continue his journey.
Cultivators used a different currency than mortals. Mortals used gold, silver, and copper, while cultivators used special crystals called spirit stones. Most spirit stones were similar in appearance to mortal coins, mined from the earth. They contained abundant ancient spiritual energy, far denser and purer than the current ambient energy, making them highly effective for cultivation.
Although cultivators could generate their own spiritual energy after establishing the Yin Tomb and Yang Tomb realms, it wasn’t enough for breakthroughs. Therefore, having spirit stones on hand was common practice for high-level cultivators.
Before leaving, Liu Yunfeng had given Mingyan some spirit stones for emergencies.
Mingyan explored the city. Most cultivators here were at low levels, mostly Spring Gushing and Gathering Stream. There were a few at the Great Brook Realm, but he didn’t sense anyone stronger than himself, although there were likely cultivators at the Illuminating Sea Realm or higher.
At the Huang family, he had only encountered mortals and cultivators at the Yin Tomb Realm or higher… Huang Junyi, Huang Qingfei, Huang Junru, and the others were even at the half-step Human Gateway and Human Gateway Realms… They were a prominent family, near the pinnacle of the cultivation world. This town, however, was more representative of the world accessible to cultivators at his level.
Many vendors were selling so-called ancient materials. Hoping to find something suitable for his weapon, Mingyan browsed through them but found most lacked any spiritual energy. The few that did were too weak for crafting high-quality weapons. Disappointed, he moved on.
It was difficult to find treasures at street stalls. He wasn’t going to be scammed. He didn’t have many spirit stones to waste.
“Young Master, please wait.” As Mingyan was looking for a crowded area to gather information, someone called out to him. He turned and saw a young man in uniform approaching, wearing a hair crown. He couldn’t sense the man’s cultivation, so he was either an ordinary person or a much stronger cultivator.
“Brother, are you calling me?”
“Yes.” The uniformed man smiled. “My name is Chen Qiming. I’m a cultivator from the Nan Ming City guard. I noticed you’re not wearing any identification token. May I ask if you belong to a sect?”
Mingyan had belonged to one, but not anymore. He shook his head. “No.”
“Are you a rogue cultivator, Young Master?” The man addressed him respectfully, and Mingyan responded politely.
“You could say that. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Would you be interested in joining Nan Ming City? The path of cultivation is long and lonely. Having fellow disciples to support each other is beneficial.”
Mingyan shook his head gently. “I appreciate your offer, Brother, but I already have a destination in mind.”
“Oh… I see. I won’t force you. But if you change your mind, you can always return. Registration is at the City Lord’s Manor.” The man wasn’t offended by his refusal. He bowed slightly. “I won’t disturb you any further, Young Master. I wish you a safe journey.”
He then left and, after walking for a while, approached another Great Brook Realm cultivator…
Mingyan understood. Nan Ming City was having trouble recruiting disciples. That man was likely at least at the Illuminating Sea Realm, yet he was so eager to recruit people on the streets… He must be desperate.
It made sense. Nan Ming City was so close to the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land. Any promising talents would naturally go there. They could only pick up those rejected by the Sacred Land… Being so close to a Sacred Land was a disadvantage for sects like this.
Mingyan looked away, found a tavern, and entered.
The aroma of wine filled the air. Many cultivators enjoyed drinking, and most of the wine here was spirit wine. Mingyan had a high tolerance for alcohol and used to drink before hunting to warm himself up. But he hadn’t drunk since he started cultivating.
He noticed a sign that said “Outside beverages allowed.” He hesitated, wondering if he should take out the peach blossom wine Huang Qingfei had given him… But he decided against it. These drunkards would likely cause trouble if they smelled the fragrant wine. He ordered a pot of ordinary spirit wine from the waiter, who was a Gathering Stream cultivator…
In the eyes of mortals, even the weakest cultivator was extraordinary, but among cultivators, Spring Gushing and Gathering Stream cultivators were common, living at the bottom of the cultivation world.
In the world of cultivation, strength was paramount. Only the strong were respected.
Mingyan listened intently to the conversations around him.
“I heard the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land is recruiting this autumn?”
“Yes, but they’re accepting very few male disciples this time, unlike previous years.”
“Then my younger brother’s chances are slim?”
“I remember your brother is nine and already at the Gathering Stream Realm, right?”
“Yes… I wonder if he’ll be accepted…”
“Nine years old and only at Gathering Stream seems a bit late. Can he reach Yin Tomb by sixteen?”
“That might be difficult…”
Mingyan’s eyes flickered. It seemed younger and stronger cultivators were preferred. But why were they accepting so few male disciples? This was strange.
Huang Feiyan had told him the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land was divided into two branches, one for men and one for women. They should be recruiting equally…
And without Huang Junru’s letter, he likely wouldn’t be accepted… He was already sixteen and only at the Great Brook Realm. A Sacred Land like the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land probably wouldn’t be interested in him. Age was an important factor.
Like that waiter, who looked to be in his twenties and was only at the Gathering Stream Realm. He was a far cry from a nine-year-old at the same level. One was considered a potential genius, the other a mediocre talent.
After drinking some wine, Mingyan left the tavern. He hadn’t gathered much useful information. His spiritual energy had also recovered. It was time to continue his journey.
He left Nan Ming City and headed towards the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land.
However, he soon realized someone was following him.
As a former hunter, Mingyan had excellent tracking and counter-tracking skills. He found this strange. Why would anyone follow him?
He hadn’t flaunted his wealth in the city, and his cultivation level wasn’t noteworthy. He shouldn’t have attracted any attention…
He concealed his presence, leaving no trace, practically vanishing into the forest.
His pursuer quickly lost his trail and, after searching for a while, gave up and left.
Unbeknownst to them, Mingyan had circled back to observe them. He was surprised to see it was a woman with… unusual features. He didn’t know why she was following him, but it couldn’t be anything good. He sighed inwardly. A man truly had to protect himself out in the world…
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