The next morning, the end-of-year examinations resud. Long Yifei had nothing to do today as it was the preliminaries. Those that weren’t able to sing on stage were individually judged. Scores were given out for various artistic creations displayed during the garden party the prior night. Other classics like musical instrunts and literature also had additional preliminary tests.
Long Yifei practiced her singing and dancing in her dorm. She chose not to mingle with the other sacred daughters as that would be a waste of ti. As for Chen Wentian, he took advantage of the downti to quietly leave the Millenium Mountains Campus. A few hours later, having seemingly gone for an ordinary errand. However, instead of his real body, he was replaced by Chen Mo.
Chen Wentian, himself, slipped away into the lawless territories and donned the disguise of a certain overweight sword cultivator. Immortal Sword Bandit Lin Huzhong reappeared and returned to the Black Mountain Stronghold where his disciples had been patiently waiting for him.
"Master, welco back." Lin Qingcheng greeted him along with the others atop the stronghold walls.
She was dressed as Ren Jinjin, the first disciple of the infamous Lin Huzhong. Her excessive makeup made her look like the madam of a pleasure house. Her excessive jewelry completed the look. Beside her stood Zhou Ziyun and Wu Qianyu. One was a plain female monk with a forgettable face, the other a fearso armored dragon warrior. They made for a curious trio.
"Master."
Six identically dressed won behind the trio also bowed as he landed. They wore long, dark red battle dresses. Their features were obscured by wide-brimd hats and thick veils. Only their eyes were barely visible. If one didn’t know any better, they would assu this was a troop of expert assassins, a group of deadly, beautiful warriors.
Chen Wentian smiled, "Are we ready to go?"
"Yes, master." They all replied.
He studied their faces, or as much as he could through their veils and tal helts. Zhou Ziyun had a placid expression while Lin Qingcheng looked so excited she was about to start jumping up and down.
Their destination was the Temple of the Clouds. They had a long trip ahead. First, they would head to Thousand Sins City and take the teleportation array there to head deeper into the central region. Then, at an area nad Hundred Battlefields, they would transfer to a flying boat for the rest of the way until they reached the mysterious place known as the Temple of the Clouds, the most hotly contested area in the entire continent, where many mortals and immortals alike gathered to seek untold fortunes.
"Very well. Hold onto each other and hold on tight!" He said.
His disciples obeyed. Lin Qingcheng directly hugged his fake, oversized belly. Zhou Ziyun held his arm on the other side. The rest crowded around him in a tight circle.
Chen Wentian spread his sword aura to encompass all of them and they took off. Still pretending to be a Spirit Lord, it was barely within his capability to carry nine people at the sa ti. Any more and bystanders would start wondering if sothing was wrong with him. He also made sure to take breaks every so often to appear as if he was struggling like an overweight, understrength immortal was bound to do.
This ragtag group eventually reached Thousand Sins City, only drawing a slight amount of attention. Immortal Sword Bandit Lin Huzhong’s na was well known by now as the strange sword immortal who had taken over Black Mountain Stronghold. He was also the owner of the brand-new Red Willow Tower which was a big hit throughout the city. The rumor was that spending a night there with the highest quality won would give the custors a substantial boost in their cultivation efficiency and motivation. Thus, Lin Huzhong beca a respected bandit lord that nobody cared to ss with.
Going through the teleportation array was a simple affair. Nobody bothered them. Nobody gave them trouble. They were just another group of bandits traveling across the central region. One would have expected the opposite, given that this place was known for lawlessness, violence, and general disregard for social norms.
The answer to that was quite simple. It was money.
Bandits, thieves, murders for hire, everyone had a price. The large gangs that ruled the various cities all had a price. Those that operated the teleportation arrays also had a price.
Granted, this price was many tis more expensive than the price in an ordinary province. The cost for one person for a normal trip in the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent was about ten taels of gold. Here, it was one hundred to sotis two hundred taels of gold per person. Immortals also had to pay a special tax which was upwards of one thousand taels of gold per use.
Ignoring Zhou Ziyun’s grumbling, Chen Wentian happily paid these exorbitant fees at each new city until they eventually arrived at a place known as the Hundred Battlefields. It was a strange place, a vast land filled with the aura of death.
The city, nad Hundred Battlefields City, was situated on the far outskirts of a vast desolate flatland, the scene of over a hundred blood battles between humans, beasts, and all kinds of demons. Their blood and spiritual auras had seeped deep into the ground thousands of years ago. Their flesh and bones had long since turned into dirt.
However, the result of such carnage was a dark, eerie region that often gave birth to all kinds of strange demons and deathly spirit beasts. It was one of the many fascinating areas of the central region. Although it was not as attractive of a place as the Temple of the Clouds, it had a definite appeal to people who cultivated deathly spiritual arts.
After the Hundred Battlefields, their journey via teleportation arrays ca to an end. Next ca a long trip on flying boats. They ca in all shapes and sizes. Various gangs operated these flying boats to make the difficult journey to and from the temple. Mortals could pay about ten thousand taels of gold per person to squeeze onto a boat that could carry several hundred. Those with more ans could charter an entire flying boat for themselves.
Chen Wentian chose the latter.
---
Thank you to all my patrons!
Support and read ahead by 150 or even 300 Chapters!
p atreon/kigreenwriting
Join my discord for updates, delays, and my ramblings :)
d iscord.gg/dY5UApw
User Comments
0 comments from readers