“Esteemed Venerable, please follow me!” The Tianpeng youth spoke respectfully after Han Li had finished surveying the distant colossal city.
Han Li nodded, flapped the wings on his back, and followed the youth toward the nearest towering pillar.
Along the way, the youth proactively explained, “Esteemed Venerable, please be cautious and do not stray too far from the Sky Pillar. Only within a fifty-zhang radius of these pillars can one avoid the city’s restrictions and freely enter or exit the Sacred City. The Tianpeng Forbidden Formation of our city is renowned even among the seventy-two branches. With this formation in place, we can repel enemies several times our strength. Since ancient times, our clan has repeatedly relied on it to escape the brink of annihilation.”
Pride filled the youth’s voice.
Though Han Li had yet to inspect the city’s restrictions, the terrifying spiritual pressure emanating from the light barrier alone confirmed the youth’s words. He couldn’t help but take a few more glances.
His pupils flickered with blue light as his Clear Spirit Eyes activated, revealing something unusual. Deep within the hazy white radiance high above, faint strands of green and silver light drifted about. Though they appeared delicate, the overwhelming spiritual energy in the air mostly originated from these densely packed filaments.
After studying them for a moment, Han Li and the youth flew past the giant pillar.
Soon, they arrived inside the colossal city.
At a glance, the city was filled with numerous structures, but they differed greatly from those in human cities. Most buildings were cylindrical with conical roofs, varying in height—some towering over a hundred zhang, others merely a few zhang tall. Each had several semicircular arched doors and windows.
What surprised Han Li even more was that a significant portion of the buildings were constructed directly into the cliffs visible on one side of the city, or steep rock faces dotted with honeycomb-like caves.
“Esteemed Venerable, the guest residences are scattered throughout the city. Would you like to stay at the nearest one? It should be vacant,” the youth inquired respectfully.
“It makes no difference. Lead the way,” Han Li replied indifferently.
The youth acknowledged and guided Han Li through the city at a low altitude, allowing him to take in the sights and pass by many winged men and women flitting about.
After about half a shichen, they arrived before a sizable cluster of buildings and landed on one of its platforms. At the far end stood a three-story circular structure.
As soon as they landed, a young woman with pristine white wings emerged from the building and bowed from a distance.
“Brother Huayu, is this esteemed guest seeking lodging at the guest residence?”
“Bai Cui, this is Venerable Han, a distinguished guest of Spirit General Fengxiao. You must attend to him well,” Huayu said solemnly, clearly familiar with the maid-like girl.
“A guest of Spirit General Fengxiao! This humble servant will serve the Venerable with utmost care!” The beautiful girl’s expression shifted at the mention of Fengxiao, and she replied with deep respect.
Han Li glanced at her, sensing her weak aura—equivalent to only the Qi Refining stage—and nodded slightly before stepping inside.
The girl lowered her head and followed closely, while Huayu dared not enter and waited outside.
After a short while, Han Li’s calm voice echoed from within:
“Good. This place is satisfactory. You may leave now.”
Relieved, the youth bid farewell and took flight.
Meanwhile, on the third floor of the building, Han Li stood by a semicircular window, watching the youth depart. Behind him, the girl named Bai Cui stood quietly with her hands clasped.
“How many clansmen reside in the Sacred City?” Han Li suddenly asked without turning.
The girl blinked but answered reflexively, “The Sacred City is vast. Though no exact count exists, there must be at least thirty to forty million.”
“Thirty to forty million? So few?” Han Li murmured, sounding skeptical.
“Esteemed Venerable misunderstands. Only those who have achieved cultivation success and can assume spiritual forms are permitted in the Sacred City. Those with low cultivation or unable to transform are barred. Though our clan is among the weaker branches of the Feiling Race, we still number over a billion.”
“I see,” Han Li said, realization dawning.
“Esteemed Venerable, is this your first time in the Sacred City?” the girl ventured hesitantly after stealing a glance at him.
“Oh? Are there many distinguished guests like me visiting for the first time?” Han Li detected something in her tone and asked lightly.
“You jest, Venerable. The guest residences rarely see visitors. Those who stay are either first-time outsiders or clansmen here temporarily for business.”
“Nothing unusual. This is my first return to the clan after years of secluded cultivation overseas,” Han Li replied smoothly before adding, “Is there a place nearby selling maps of the city? If so, direct me. I need one.”
“There’s no need to purchase a map outside, Venerable. The guest residence provides specially crafted maps for distinguished guests, far more detailed than those sold elsewhere. I’ll fetch one for you.”
“Ah, how convenient. Bring me one, then.”
“Yes, Venerable.” The girl retreated gracefully and descended the stairs like a swallow.
Han Li remained by the window, contemplating his plans.
His infiltration of the Tianpeng Clan was solely for the rare materials of the Feiling Race. As for artifacts or treasures, he had little interest. From the single Feiling battle he’d witnessed, they seemed to rely less on external tools, possibly due to either poor artifact-crafting skills or their high-tier cultivators’ self-sufficiency. The only notable items—the “Demon-Binding Net” and “Fire Dragon Pearl”—were auxiliary in nature. Regardless, his goal was clear: acquire useful materials and leave before getting entangled in their conflicts.
As he pondered, the girl returned, holding a thumb-thick, emerald-green bamboo tube a few inches long, shimmering faintly.
Surprised but maintaining his composure, Han Li reached out, and the tube flew into his grasp with a soft whoosh. He dismissed the girl with a wave.
Bai Cui bowed obediently and retreated downstairs.
Han Li examined the bamboo tube curiously. Infusing it with his spiritual sense, he found an incredibly detailed map etched inside.
This bamboo functioned similarly to a jade slip—impressive craftsmanship for a race supposedly lacking in artifact refinement.
After studying the map for the time it took to finish a meal, he withdrew his spiritual sense, deep in thought.
The Sacred City was smaller than he’d expected—though “small” was relative to human metropolises housing billions. In reality, traversing it from end to end would still take the better part of a day.
Most structures held little interest for him, but the Trading Hall, located within a mountain at the city’s edge, caught his full attention. The entire mountain interior served as a marketplace, indistinguishable from human or demon bazaars.
The only other place that piqued his curiosity was the “Transmission Spirit Hall,” where the Tianpeng Clan provided mid-to-high-tier cultivation techniques to its members.
The map also marked several forbidden zones, but Han Li had no intention of probing those.
Committing key locations to memory, he activated his wings, enveloped himself in azure light, and slipped out the window, heading straight for the Trading Hall.
The Tianpeng Clan seemed unstable. He had no desire to linger for weeks—better to gather materials swiftly and depart before getting embroiled in their troubles.
To avoid drawing attention, he matched the flight speed of other Tianpeng clansmen.
The Trading Hall’s location at the city’s edge meant a quarter-hour’s flight had only covered a fraction of the distance when an extraordinarily tall, octagonal tower came into view ahead.
Standing six to seven hundred zhang tall, its smooth, eight-sided surface bore intricate patterns exuding faint black mist—eerily familiar to Han Li. At its summit, a massive crystal emitted a seven-colored radiance, encasing the tower and trapping the black mist within.
Han Li’s eyes narrowed.
If he recalled correctly, this was one of the forbidden zones labeled “Sealed Spirit Tower” on the map—a place with no further explanation but clearly hazardous.
Within a hundred zhang of the tower, not a single Tianpeng clansman dared to fly.
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