An ancient town appeared in the distance within Wang Chen's sight.
This place no longer belonged to the territory of Great Qian; he had ridden his big green donkey all the way here, passing through desolate and uninhabited plains. Suddenly seeing such a town, he couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship stirring in his heart.
Even for cultivators, unless one reached a completely transcendent level, it was rare for anyone to cultivate in solitude for years on end; normal communication and social interaction were still needed.
Following the path carved by wheel tracks, Wang Chen entered the quaint little town.
The number of buildings in the town was not great, but the blue bricks and black tiles appeared to be quite old. Thick stone slabs paved the ground, and so shops lined the street, which looked quite deserted with few custors.
Wang Chen stopped in front of an inn, where a young attendant ca out to greet him, "Taoist master, are you stopping for a break or staying over? We still have two upper rooms available."
"I'll stay one night."
Jumping down from the donkey, Wang Chen handed the reins to the attendant, "Get an upper room."
While saying this, he handed over a piece of broken silver, "This is for you, take good care of this donkey for , and feed it so fine fodder."
"Alright!"
The attendant smiled broadly, thumping his chest, "I assure you, your donkey will be well fed!"
The big green donkey cocked its head, looking at him disdainfully, and snorted a rough breath.
"A distinguished guest has arrived!"
The attendant, oblivious to the big green donkey's glance, called out loudly into the inn, "One upper room!"
"Please co inside~"
There were about a dozen tables in the main hall of the inn, seated with several dozen people.
Most of these people were bearing bows and swords, with prominent temples that emitted a fierce aura.
At first glance, they were clearly travelers from the martial world.
A few had bamboo baskets by their side, containing items like hoes, ropes, and probes.
The inn also served food and drinks. The travelers from the martial world sat in groups around tables, eating and drinking, so talking loudly and laughing, so whispering quietly, and others sat alone in corners, sipping their wine in silence.
Wang Chen's arrival caught the attention of many, and the chatter died down a bit.
Wang Chen found an empty table and sat down, taking out spirit rice and dried at from his pack. He said to the attendant who just ca over, "Take these to the kitchen and cook a pot of porridge, and bring a pot of clear tea."
Though cultivators could also sate their hunger with ordinary food, consuming too much of non-spiritual quality could impair their cultivation and bring the troubles of the five grains cycle.
Of course, Wang Chen wouldn't eat the inn's offered food.
He carried a storage bag filled with spirit rice and monster beast at, enough to last him for ten years.
Most were spoils of conquest.
Although the inn attendant was a bit surprised, he still took the spirit rice and beast at to the kitchen to be prepared.
He then brought Wang Chen a pot of clear tea shortly after.
Wang Chen poured himself a cup of the tea.
He didn't drink it either.
Turning his head, he gazed out the window at the distant mist-enshrouded Great Marsh.
The East Wasteland Great Marsh!
Legends say that in ancient tis, a power man laid out a great formation in the East Wasteland to separate the worlds of mortals and immortals.
This grand formation spanned heaven and earth, covering tens of thousands of miles. Inside it were incredibly strong prohibitions, which even Nascent Soul True Immortals could not break through.
Back then, it was virtually impossible for mortals to traverse the East Wasteland into the world of immortal cultivation.
The difficulty of ascending to immortality was harder than reaching the heavens!
However, as ti passed and the sea turned into mulberry fields, the ancient power man who had laid out the great formation had long since ascended, and the world-spanning formation gradually lost its effect, eventually collapsing to transform the land into an endless Great Marsh.
Although remnants of the formation's prohibitions still existed, making it difficult for birds to cross above the Great Marsh and only large flying warships could fly over from the high skies, the ground was no longer a complete wasteland or a land of death.
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For thousands of years, countless creatures have lived within the Great Marsh, with martial artists of the Martial World frequently entering to gather and hunt, gradually exploring a path to the world of immortal cultivation.
This path, ca to be known as the "Path to Ascension".
The small town where Wang Chen now found himself is called Ascension Town!
All about the Path to Ascension and Ascension Town had been told to the original occupant of this body by Wang Shaoyuan.
Although Wang Chen's Divine Soul had long ago fused with the original host, these mories were still deeply etched in his mind.
Back then, it was from Ascension Town that Wang Shaoyuan set out, crossing the vast East Wasteland Great Marsh to reach the world of immortal cultivation!
Although Wang Shaoyuan had never shared his experiences in the East Wasteland Great Marsh with the original host, it must have been fraught with countless dangers and required innurable efforts and hardships.
Each year, so mortals successfully traverse the East Wasteland Great Marsh, but behind them lie countless uncounted skeletons.
Wang Chen never thought that he, like these mortals, would have to pass through the East Wasteland Great Marsh to reach the world of immortal cultivation.
There was no other way.
By now he was almost certainly a wanted man by the Guiyuan Gate, so even if he changed his appearance with the Thousand chanisms Changing mask and went to Qian Capital to board the Four Seas Comrce Association's flying warship back to the world of immortal cultivation, it wouldn't be a wise choice.
Wang Chen even suspected that after the Cloud Sun Sect fled to the Upper Realm, whether the Four Seas Comrce Association's route was still running was a very big question.
Now that Guiyuan Gate had taken over Great Qian, they were definitely going to reshuffle the deck!
To avoid potential risks, that's why Wang Chen had co all this way here.
Traversing the East Wasteland Great Marsh via the Path to Ascension would only take longer, but in reality, was much safer for him.
"Guest."
The attendant's voice interrupted Wang Chen's thoughts, as a pot of steaming at porridge was served onto the table.
An alluring fragrance imdiately wafted through the inn's lobby.
Many martial artists showed signs of mouthwatering craving, their gazes at Wang Chen brimming with obscure aning.
It slled like sothing truly exquisite!
The inn attendant set down the pot of porridge and took two steps back, swallowing his saliva.
He too was quite tempted to taste the fragrant at porridge, but just now the shopkeeper personally oversaw the kitchen and strictly prohibited any snacking, fearing it might bring trouble to the inn.
A young Taoist like Wang Chen, who ca to Ascension Town alone, was certainly no ordinary person!
Wang Chen was aware of the wolf-like stares from around him.
He didn't care and pulled a gold ingot from his sleeve, pinching it gently between the forefinger and middle finger of his left hand.
The golden ingot was instantly split into two!
Witnessing this scene, the martial artists all inhaled sharply.
This kind of feat could only be perford by Innate power n wielding Innate True Qi.
Wang Chen tossed half the ingot to the attendant, "Is this enough for the room and the tea?"
The attendant hastily caught it, nodding like pounding garlic: "Enough, enough!"
Half a gold ingot was roughly five taels, which was more than enough to cover a night's stay; even covering a month would be no issue.
Wang Chen's generosity stunned onlookers.
And those who looked at him saw no longer a covetous gleam, but rather a look of awe.
Such a young Innate power n, with an unknown depth of background—who would dare offend one so impatiently clinging to life?
Wang Chen quietly finished off a pot of at porridge.
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Here's the first update.
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