Yancheng, as the capital of a country in the Fantasy Cultivation World, naturally boasted grandeur beyond imagination.
The ancient and elegant architecture was majestic, with so buildings even reaching thousands of ters high.
In the city's half sky, countless palaces, immortal mountains, and gardens floated, with spirit birds, flying vehicles, and boats constantly coming and going.
If these were replaced with flying vehicles, the city would have exuded a sci-fi flavor.
The grand, magical, and mysterious cultivation city was a sight that Lu Yao relished.
"In the myriad worlds of heaven and earth, there are boundless sceneries. Once my business is taken care of, I must bring the ladies here to see this."
Whenever sothing good happened, Lu Yao always rembered the several won at ho. This was also one of the important reasons they were so devoted to Lu Yao.
At the mont, amidst the bustling traffic, Lu Yao's slow flight went unnoticed.
As he approached the city, he was stopped by an invisible light mbrane—this must be the "Defensive Array."
Being the capital of a country, not to ntion the existing conflicts among the three powerful nations in this realm, access was naturally not granted to just anyone.
But while being vigilant, they could not let it affect the country's recruitnt of talents or harm the business environnt, so there was much room for maneuverability.
Lu Yao was well aware of this and landed quietly at the city gate, entering a palatial building.
Soon, a middle-aged man in a green official robe, accompanied by two subordinates, ca forward and said:
"I am the 'Yancheng' patrol envoy. I do not sense the aura of a 'Fish Talisman' on you, sir. I assu this is your first ti in Zhao Country?"
The Fish Talisman was akin to a cultivator's version of a "national ID card" uniformly issued in Zhao Country.
Lu Yao calmly responded, "My na is Lu Yao, a Loose Cultivator from Spring Mountain, indeed, this is my first visit to Yancheng."
"Spring Mountain..."
This was a mountain range at the border of Zhao Country where Loose Cultivators gathered. The middle-aged official nodded, obviously not surprised by the answer.
"Without a Fish Talisman, you cannot enter the city, and you will find many inconveniences within our country's borders. You should still process it in a tily manner."
"That is indeed my intention."
Lu Yao certainly intended to enter the city to gather information, and the middle-aged official just happened to be completing a performance target, so their needs matched perfectly.
"Very well, please fill out this form,"
Lu Yao, with an odd expression, received it and saw that it required registration of na, gender, age, and Cultivation Technique.
At the sa ti, the middle-aged official took out a jade Magic Artifact in the shape of a koi fish and said:
"I also need to test your cultivation level. May I ask if your cultivation is at the Golden Core stage?"
Lu Yao had initially pretended to be at the Golden Core stage, but this being the capital, that cultivation level seed rather low, so the Nascent Soul stage would be more appropriate.
At this mont, there were quite a few Cultivators registering like him, with close to a thousand people in the entire palace, but only three were at the Nascent Soul Stage.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Yao's Divine Thought had swept over them, inspecting them inside and out.
The three Nascent Soul Cultivators didn't react at all, blissfully unaware that they had been thoroughly checked, the disparity between them clear.
At that mont, Lu Yao calmly answered, "My cultivation level is... Nascent Soul."
As he spoke, his Divine Thought materialized a miniaturized version of himself at the Purple Mansion location in his chest.
Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed across the middle-aged official's face, and his deanor beca much more respectful in an instant.
He carefully asured with the Magic Artifact and indeed saw the "Nascent Soul" within the Purple Mansion.
In an instant, the three officials surrounding Lu Yao, as well as the nearby Cultivators, all beca exceedingly cautious. Their postures shrank as if bowing in deep respect.
The middle-aged official handed over a jade talisman shaped like a carps, bowing as he said:
"So it turns out to be a Nascent Soul Senior in person. Please forgive my lack of discernnt. Here is your Fish Talisman."
Lu Yao casually pocketed it.
Normally, this couldn't have been handled so quickly. A first-ti visitor to the capital would have had to go through background inquiries and pay various fees like an entry tax, but now, none of that was needed.
Power is the best credential.
The enthusiastic middle-aged official ran up again to lead the way, saying, "Senior, let escort you in."
Lu Yao nodded, following behind the man in a grand manner, heading towards the protective array of Yancheng.
Along the way, the middle-aged official busily took care of many entry procedures.
Before parting, he took out many beautifully made booklets, saying warmly:
"These are so of the larger businesses within Yancheng, should you need anything, feel free to visit them."
Lu Yao took them and saw they were indeed beautifully printed advertisents; the man likely benefited from referrals or the like.
Lu Yao didn't pay much attention, thanked him, and put them all in his bag.
~~~~~~~~~~
With the "Fish Talisman," Yancheng's defensive array no longer hindered passage.
Lu Yao felt a lightness in his body and easily passed through an invisible barrier, entering the grand and bustling capital of Zhao Country.
Upon entering, he imdiately noticed the concentration of spirit energy inside the city was much denser than outside!
Looking up at the invisible barrier covering the entire city, he understood that this so-called array served not only for defense but also to accumulate spirit energy.
But imrsing in such an environnt, Lu Yao didn't feel too comfortable, rather he frowned and said,
"Excess is just as bad as deficiency, the people of Xuanhuang Realm rely too much on spirit energy."
Even with the best things, one must seek moderation; this is true for all things in the world.
Such high concentration, if relied on for a long ti, could affect the body's own operation, even causing degeneration of various functions!
However, Lu Yao only sighed at this, as he still had his own matters to tend to.
He took out the booklet the official had given him earlier and chose a shop called "Baoding Pavilion" to fly over to.
The shop was suspended in mid-air, a hundred ters tall and shaped like a tripod.
After entering, he saw the ground floor had a floor so polished you could see your reflection, and the décor was lavish and magnificent.
Service staff, both tall and handso n and beautiful won, greeted him with smiles, all dressed in uniform.
Its positioning was akin to a center for luxury goods on Blue Star, similar to those places where a single watch might sell for millions.
But Lu Yao, who was not lacking in wealth, exuded an air that any businessperson with savvy could easily perceive.
Especially after a unique fluctuation swept over his "Fish Talisman," a young woman approached him with a smiling face and said,
"Welco, esteed guest. I am Du Lan, the shopkeeper of Baoding Pavilion. May I help you with anything?"
The woman appeared to be about 20 years old, dressed in ancient clothing but with the grace of a modern beauty, also a Nascent Soul Cultivator.
Lu Yao, with an air of nonchalance, said, "It's my first visit to your esteed place; just having a look around."
"You're most welco!" Du Lan, not minding at all and with the enthusiasm befitting a shopkeeper, acted as a sales guide.
Lu Yao had no objections and began perusing the luxurious shop.
He noticed that the items on the first floor were rather common and actually settled in Gold.
In the cultivation world, gold has irreplaceable uses in alchemy, formation setting, tallurgy, chemistry, and also serves as the "normal" currency of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Starting from the second floor, transactions were made with "Spirit Stones" for cultivation techniques, elixirs, dicinal ingredients, etc.
The value of these items ranged from a few to dozens of "inferior Spirit Stones."
But Lu Yao didn't even have a single "inferior Spirit Stone" in hand.
On his journey here, he had casually started with "Mid-grade" stones.
The value disparity between the two was a hundredfold!
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