Three days after the fighting in Suxing Valley.
In front of Moxin Mountain, two streaks of tunneling light ca from the horizon, arrived nearby in an instant, then descended from the sky and landed beside a clear spring halfway up the mountain, whereupon Zhang Yan and Yong Fu stepped out from within the radiance.
Zhang Yan turned his gaze and saw dense water mist before him. He gave his sleeve a flick to sweep it away, revealing a pool about an acre wide, its erald waves pure and cold, with a thin, long curtain of water flowing continuously down from a crack in the rock, murmuring without cease.
On the left, against the cliff face, about one zhang above the ground, there was a secluded ravine cave, with lush vegetation half-veiling its mysteries. Vaguely one could see three characters, "Ningyong Cave," along the upper edge. He pointed and said, "Master Yong, is this the entrance to that immortal city?"
Yong Fu chuckled, shook his head, and said, "It is not." He turned around, walked back a dozen or so steps, and ca to an inconspicuous well, where he raised a foot and stepped on it, saying, "This is the place."
Zhang Yan narrowed his eyes to look closely and saw that the well’s surrounding rail had collapsed on one side, its stone rim covered in green moss and yellow mud, dilapidated beyond repair. He did not sense the slightest Prohibition upon it, and he nodded, saying, "So that is how it is. The real made false, the false made real—this concealnt is indeed well done."
Yong Fu said, "This place can only be entered and exited by the Master of the Immortal City, so it must be handled with the utmost care."
The Divine House Immortal City did not stand in any conspicuous place, but was instead deep hidden within the mountain’s belly, so as to prevent it from being seized by outside Cultivators. Aside from the main gate, this was the only passage in and out, known solely to the Masters of the Immortal City through the ages.
Zhang Yan circled the well twice and said, "There is no Prohibition here. It may deceive so people, but it cannot guarantee against all contingencies. There should be further arrangents laid down as a backup."
Yong Fu showed a hint of surprise, then praised, "True Master Zhang has guessed correctly. Beneath this well there is also a Thousand-year-old Toad Spirit. It once received the favor of a certain generation’s Master and willingly guards this gate. I have heard it even inherited the Daoist Inheritance of so Great cultivator. Though its visage is sowhat ugly and grotesque, its Daoist Cultivation is deep. When True Master Zhang ets it in a mont, do not underestimate it."
Zhang Yan inclined his head to show he understood.
Yong Fu took sothing from his sleeve, slowly handed it toward Zhang Yan, and said in a deep voice, "This is the Immortal City’s Prohibition Token. With it, you can go straight to the locus of the central hub. After Refining the Prohibition Stele, you can then command the city’s Prohibitions. Today, I shall hand it over to you, fellow Daoist."
Zhang Yan reached out to take it and gave Yong Fu a ceremonial bow.
Yong Fu returned the bow and said, "I am now no longer the Master, so it is inconvenient for to accompany you. True Master Zhang, I shall take my leave here."
When he had finished speaking, he tapped a foot beneath him, rose with the wind, and drifted into the clouds. In just a mont, his figure could no longer be seen.
Zhang Yan held the token up before him and sent a strand of Spiritual Energy into it.
With the Mana he possessed today, he only needed to stir it slightly to completely Refining this item and make it his own.
Then he tossed it upward. The Gang Cloud above his head turned slightly and drew it in.
He lowered his head to glance at the deep well, smiled, ford a spell with his hands, then rose up and turned into a streak of tunneling light, plunging down. As soon as he entered the water, he activated the Water Escape Technique, passing through the long well shaft in one breath and reaching the very bottom.
At that mont his whole body felt light, and he discovered that he now stood within a cavern a hundred zhang high. This should be within the belly of Heart Demon Mountain, which soone had hollowed out by ans of Great Dharma Power. When he looked up, he saw tens of thousands of Bright Treasure Jade embedded in the cave walls, rosy radiance flickering, the brilliance bright as day. Beneath his feet lay a deep erald pool, spanned by an exquisite stone bridge that led further into the depths.
He gave his sleeve a light shake and drifted inward.
After crossing the stone bridge and passing through several cave gates, he arrived in another Cave Mansion, likewise spacious. A shallow layer of clear water covered the ground, within which thousands upon thousands of stone piles like ga pieces rose up, each topped with a Seven-Colored Banner. Threads of azure and purple light Qi wafted from the banner surfaces, faintly revealing star-map patterns. As he walked along, the token resonated with the banners; they trembled without cease, emitting a rumbling sound like ocean surf, giving so idea of what fearso power these Prohibitions would unleash once activated.
Before coming here, Zhang Yan had heard Chu Daoist describe how the Immortal City’s outer ring was encircled by mountain ridges, and within, Jade and spirit wood ford a protective barrier. If one then added the Great Array ford by these banners here, it would truly be as solid as tal and soup. Had he chosen, on this visit, not to engage in formal fighting but instead to seize it by force, it would likely have been very difficult to succeed.
However, this was also because the Mountain Realm of Divine House Mountain was desolate and, in addition, there was no Cave Heaven True Master sitting in town, that the defenses were made this strict. It was said that every Immortal City established by the Zhongtai Sect hung alone in the sky and could be seen from a thousand li away.
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