The group, enveloped in a sphere of crackling lightning, soared onto the city wall.
“Rescued the newcomer, eh?”
“Looks like a Dao-comprehender,” remarked the two vigilant experts on the wall, eyeing Dongbo Xueying with curiosity.
“Brother Feixue, it was Jun Qian and the others who alerted us to the disturbance earlier,” chuckled the towering, rock-forged giant.
“Haha, just doing our duty! I’m Jun Qian, and this is Fu Shan,” declared Jun Qian, his aura vast and majestic, with flickering flames dancing in his eyes. Beside him stood Fu Shan, an elderly man adorned with a golden headband studded with five radiant gemstones.
Dongbo Xueying quickly clasped his hands. “I am Feixue. Greetings, Brother Jun Qian, Brother Fu Shan.”
Jun Qian nodded with a smile, while Fu Shan offered a faint grin.
Though they hailed from different worlds, each had once been a supreme overlord in their own realms, rulers who had chosen to come here after lifetimes of solitude. Yet, in this ‘Sacred Realm,’ where the number of experts was sparse, they were merely mid-tier in strength.
“We won’t disturb you further,” said the serpent-tailed Eagle-Snake Deity. “Brother Feixue, come, let’s show you around Chi Cloud City. There’s much you don’t know yet.”
“Let’s go together.”
“Brother Feixue must be out of provisions. Tonight’s feast is on me.”
Of the eight in the rescue party, five excused themselves, while three remained to accompany Dongbo Xueying warmly. These three were the serpent-tailed Eagle-Snake Deity, the physically indomitable rock giant ‘Red Fiend,’ and ‘Thunder Roar,’ who had transported them all via lightning.
“Don’t take it personally, Brother Feixue,” the Eagle-Snake Deity explained. “Everyone here was once a sovereign in their own world—some aloof, others eccentric. They only joined the rescue out of duty. Now that you’re safe, they’ve returned to their own affairs.”
“I understand. Now that I’m in Chi Cloud City, there’s no danger. You three needn’t trouble yourselves further,” Dongbo Xueying replied.
“Haha! The cultivators in Chi Cloud City are few. A newcomer is always welcome,” boomed the towering Red Fiend.
“First, let’s handle the formalities at Chi Cloud Hall—settle your residence and register your communication imprint,” Thunder Roar suggested.
“Yes, Chi Cloud Hall first.”
—
Guided by the trio, they arrived at Chi Cloud Hall, the central pavilion of the city. The walls of Chi Cloud City loomed imposingly, yet the city itself spanned a modest hundred thousand miles.
“Esteemed Daoist, please select an unoccupied abode. The darkened ones are available,” said a beautiful puppet attendant, gesturing to a miniature floating model of the city. Among the densely packed ten thousand abodes, most were unlit.
Each abode covered roughly a thousand square miles, scattered like stars across the city.
“Though there are thousands of abodes, only about three thousand experts reside here,” the Eagle-Snake Deity added.
“I’ll take this one,” Dongbo Xueying said casually, selecting an abode and receiving its command token.
Regardless of strength, all abodes were equal in size. Next, he imprinted his communication sigil.
“Chi Cloud Hall will notify you of all important matters,” the puppet attendant said.
“Now, let’s feast!” Red Fiend urged impatiently.
“To Fu Garden!”
Led by the trio, Dongbo Xueying arrived at Fu Garden, one of the city’s few culinary establishments.
Along the way, the Eagle-Snake Deity explained, “Only three experts in Chi Cloud City run eateries. Fu Garden’s master is the most skilled. Cooking the flesh of born Primordial creatures is no easy task—ordinary flames can’t even cook it, while stronger flames risk ruining it. Preserving both flavor and energy is an art.”
“I’ve never tasted Primordial creature cuisine. This will be an experience,” Dongbo Xueying said, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
The bodies of Primordial creatures were manifestations of cosmic laws. Preparing them required skills beyond even most Cosmic Deities. But in Chi Cloud City, where the weakest were late-stage Divine Emperors and the realm’s strange rules forced them to consume vast amounts of food to avoid starvation, culinary mastery had flourished over time.
—
Fu Garden was a tranquil courtyard where a portly old man snored loudly on a recliner, attended by two puppets.
“Old Fu, we’re here!”
“Old Fu, wake up! You’re asleep eight out of ten times we visit. Don’t you ever cultivate?”
Red Fiend bellowed as he strode in, then casually gestured, “Brother Feixue, make yourself at home.”
The four—Dongbo Xueying, the Eagle-Snake Deity, Thunder Roar, and Red Fiend—took their seats as the puppets served wine.
The old man yawned, blinking sleepily. “At the Divine Emperor Perfection stage, progress isn’t about grinding—it’s about epiphanies. Understand, Red Fiend?”
“Enough chatter! Bring out your ‘Eight Classics,'” Red Fiend demanded.
Noticing Dongbo Xueying, the old man grinned. “A newcomer? I’m Fu An. First meal’s on me. But you three—pay up!”
“Cheapskate!”
“Just one meal!”
Red Fiend and the Eagle-Snake Deity protested while Thunder Roar smiled quietly.
“I’m Feixue,” Dongbo Xueying interjected. “These brothers saved my life outside the city. How could I let them treat me? This feast is my thanks.” With a wave, he produced a colossal corpse—a three-hundred-meter-long Shadow Reaper.
The garden, spanning nearly a hundred miles, easily accommodated the carcass.
“Brother Feixue, you’re no ordinary man to bag a Shadow Reaper,” Red Fiend said admiringly. “One meal won’t dent this haul. But in Chi Cloud City, you’ll need reserves. Trade the rest for roasted meat—Fu Garden’s simplest yet tastiest option.”
“As you advise,” Dongbo Xueying agreed, nodding.
He reflected on the nature of Primordial creatures. In the Broken Tooth Mountain Range, they spanned hundreds of millions of miles. But here, under the realm’s oppressive rules, their forms were drastically smaller. His earlier psychic sweep had detected a swarm of Shadow Reapers, some at Divine Emperor Perfection level. The two he’d captured were merely mid-tier—the smallest and weakest.
Size correlated with power. The two monstrous Primordial beings that had even wounded ‘Yuan’ were each a tenth the size of a full Source World, their corpses forming the vast Broken Tooth Mountains.
“Mmm, that aroma,” Dongbo Xueying murmured as the scent of cooking wafted over. Old Fu An was at work.
—
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