Chapter 413: Entering Wushan City

“It seems you’re quite well-informed.” The White Sand City Lord chuckled. “You even know such detailed information about Realm Gods.”

Ordinary deities would at most concern themselves with the power distribution across a few dozen starfields.

Who would know the rankings of forces across an entire prefecture? Such matters are usually only of interest to Realm Gods. After all, to ordinary deities, there’s no difference between a first-level Realm God and a third-level Realm God—both can annihilate countless deities with a mere flick of their hands.

“Dongbo,” the White Sand City Lord said with a smile, “the Divine Court’s Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet is only about three hundred years away. Where do you plan to go now? I can send you there.”

“City Lord, if you could just send me to any starfield capital, that would suffice,” Dongbo Xueying quickly replied. “I intend to cultivate in peace there until the starfield preliminary selection for the Divine Court’s Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet in three hundred years.”

The Divine Realm is vast beyond measure.

How many deities exist within it?

Only a select few will ultimately qualify to proceed to the Divine Court for the final competition. The countless deities are already weeded out during the starfield and prefecture capital selection rounds.

“The Wushan Starfield is right nearby,” the White Sand City Lord said. “I’ll send you there.”

“Thank you, City Lord,” Dongbo Xueying said gratefully.

“I told you to call me ‘big brother,’ yet you keep saying ‘City Lord, City Lord’…” The White Sand City Lord shook his head and sighed. “Never mind, I won’t press the matter. When the Anhai Prefecture capital selection comes around, I’ll be there to watch. That prefecture-level competition is the bloodiest of all… You must be careful. I truly hope to see you advance to the Divine Court.”

“I will,” Dongbo Xueying nodded.

“Go on, then. I hope to see you at the Divine Court’s Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet. Alas, in all my years, I’ve never had the chance to taste a Ten Thousand Flowers True Fruit.” The White Sand City Lord licked his lips wistfully before waving his hand. “Go, focus on your cultivation and preparations.”

*Hum.*

Dongbo Xueying felt space shift around him.

The scenery before him transformed.

“Hmm?”

He now stood amidst the starry void, gazing at a majestic city floating in the cosmos—the Wushan City of the Wushan Starfield. As the capital of a starfield, the city spanned hundreds of millions of miles in length and width. Yet, its walls were adorned with exquisite carvings, intricate and beautiful, covering every inch.

“Yunhai!” Dongbo Xueying immediately spotted a familiar figure nearby—the Cloudsea Emperor.

Clad in white robes, Yunhai exclaimed, “Dongbo?”

“How are you here?” Yunhai was utterly astonished.

“I was the one who attacked the Irontide Star, of course I’m here,” Dongbo Xueying teased with a grin.

“You?” Yunhai could hardly believe it. “But… but… I saw an incredibly terrifying being who captured us all in a chamber.”

Dongbo Xueying explained, “When I attacked the Irontide Star, I faced resistance from the Blackbone Mountain faction, and a powerful formation was triggered, shaking the entire star. That awakened the White Sand City Lord, who had been slumbering deep within the star. It was he who moved you all into the chamber and lifted your seals. Knowing we were together, he sent us both out.”

The Cloudsea Emperor finally understood, then blurted out, “Dongbo, you just became a Lord not long ago. How did you come to the Divine Realm? And to rescue me? Did you cultivate a Doppelganger Art?”

“Yes, the Doppelganger Art,” Dongbo Xueying nodded.

“Foolish!” The Cloudsea Emperor was both distressed and frantic. “How could you be so reckless? Splitting your soul in two with the Doppelganger Art will greatly hinder your cultivation. You should have continued training until you were truly powerful—certain of becoming a Realm God—before rescuing me. Or, as a Lord of a Material World, you could have sought help from major factions. Saving me wouldn’t have been difficult. But to cultivate the Doppelganger Art…”

Lords of Material Worlds held unique status.

Many top factions in the Divine Realm were eager to recruit them. Dongbo Xueying could have easily sought assistance to rescue Yunhai.

“Brother Yunhai, don’t worry,” Dongbo Xueying reassured him.

“How can I not worry? I’ve caused your soul to split in half…” The Cloudsea Emperor was consumed by guilt. “I’ve lived so long with no hope of further breakthroughs. And now, to save me, your cultivation has suffered such a setback.”

“Don’t fret,” Dongbo Xueying said with a smile. “I cultivated the Doppelganger Art not just to rescue you, but mainly to participate in the Divine Court’s Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet.”

“The Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet?” Yunhai was puzzled. “You’re participating? Dongbo, you’ve only cultivated for a short time. As far as I know, the Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet attracts the pinnacle deities from across the entire Divine Realm—anyone who has cultivated for less than eleven million years can join. The competition is fierce, with disciples of mighty figures vying for the legendary Ten Thousand Flowers True Fruit. You’ve only cultivated for a little over a thousand years. How can you compete?”

Though he acknowledged Dongbo Xueying’s extraordinary talent, the Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet was a gathering of the Divine Realm’s finest. If Dongbo Xueying had trained for millions of years, Yunhai might have had some confidence. But a mere thousand years was far too short.

“You’ll see when the time comes,” Dongbo Xueying said. “So whether or not I rescued you, I would have cultivated the Doppelganger Art for the banquet. There’s no need for you to blame yourself.”

“Ah…” Yunhai sighed.

“Let’s go. This is Wushan City of the Wushan Starfield. We’ll head there now,” Dongbo Xueying said cheerfully. “In three hundred years, we’ll participate in the starfield preliminary selection for the Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet here.”

Yunhai was torn between gratitude and remorse, but he suppressed his emotions. Turning to gaze at the magnificent Wushan City in the distance, he marveled, “Just moments ago, we were on the Irontide Star in the Tianxiang Starfield. And now, we’re already in the Wushan Starfield. Did we just ride… the legendary Starfield Ark?”

“Yes, the Starfield Ark,” Dongbo Xueying confirmed, equally awed.

In the Divine Realm, travel was typically done via spatial teleportation arrays to reach a life-bearing star, followed by conventional movement.

But the Starfield Ark was capable of true ultra-long-distance spatial shifts, effortlessly traversing entire starfields.

“I’ve heard Starfield Arks are exorbitantly expensive—so much so that even Realm Gods usually can’t afford them,” Yunhai remarked.

“The cheapest cost at least ten million divine crystals,” Dongbo Xueying said. From the artifact spirit Redstone, he had learned countless details, giving him far broader knowledge than Yunhai. “Most second-level Realm Gods wouldn’t splurge on one. Those who ride Starfield Arks are usually third-level Realm Gods or even greater beings, or those with terrifyingly powerful backgrounds.”

“Ten million divine crystals at minimum?” Yunhai shook his head in amazement.

Starfield Arks came in various designs, most of them extravagant and eye-catching. The mere appearance of such a vessel was enough to intimidate onlookers. Consider the Witch God, a Lord of a Material World and a Realm God, who had toiled through countless adventures over eons to amass ten million divine crystals. Or the Great Demon God Darhao, a second-level Realm God who had spent ages in the Dark Abyss to accumulate the same sum.

For them to spend their hard-earned wealth on a luxury item like a Starfield Ark—purely for convenience—was unthinkable.

Thus, owning a Starfield Ark was a statement of power—either one’s own or that of one’s backer.

“Let’s go to Wushan City,” Dongbo Xueying said with a smile.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The two soared through space side by side toward the towering Wushan City. Though visible to the naked eye, even with Dongbo Xueying’s mastery of the Space Heart, it took them the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to finally reach the city gates. The walls of Wushan City stood ten million miles high, dwarfing a nearby star—a mere two hundred thousand miles in diameter—that seemed insignificant in comparison.

“Dongbo, what do you think? Quite the city, isn’t it?” Yunhai said. “But since it’s your first time in the Divine Realm, you’ll need to keep a low profile and stay cautious.”

“Don’t worry, I understand,” Dongbo Xueying replied with a smile. From the lowest rungs to the highest echelons of power, he knew far more than Yunhai.

“Ah, I forgot you’ve been *there*,” Yunhai said with a knowing grin.