Chapter 29: Exploring North Ghu City
This vast city was unlike anything that Yaan was familiar with. It could be somewhat compared in terms of its structure to the mortal countries, only the scale and quality of North Ghu City was hundreds of times greater.
Each building was unique, differing greatly from the last. Some resembled small wooden shacks, others were closer to palaces, whilst a few opted for the temple aesthetic. Yaan was familiar with all of these structures, but it felt as if anything and everything had been scaled up, both in size and in majesty.
Despite there being many people walking along the streets, it never felt the least bit crowded. The strange compacted grey marble roads were too lavish, they were actually wide enough to allow over twenty people to walk side by side comfortably!
The sheer scale of everything left Yaan with wide eyes as he slowly made his way along the path.
The number of powerful Qi masters was also shocking. When it came to the people who kept their auras restrained, it was impossible for Yaan to assess their strength. Others were more open though, publicising their cultivation levels through their aura. From this, Yaan realised that there was certainly no lack of True Yuan Qi and Qi Temple realm Qi masters in this city. Even Spirit Core Elders could be seen now and then!
Only those people with sufficient strength or backing would dare to release their auras so confidently. As for Yaan, he was very restrained and cautious in his actions, he wouldn't needlessly draw attention to himself in this unknown place. Whilst he understood the rules of this city, he was still uncertain as to whether or not these rules were strictly enforced.
It was lucky that aside from Origin Soul realm Qi masters and those with strange investigatory spells, it was impossible for Qi masters to comprehend the intricacies of someone's cultivation with a simple glance. If others really could see through the truth of Yaan's cultivation so easily, they would certainly discover that he cultivated his body rather than Yuan Qi. When Great Elder Wan died, the camouflage formation on his body also dissipated, along with the unactivated slave seal. Though, even now, Yaan was still unaware that he had been imprinted with a slave seal back in the Heavenly Path Sect.
The city was designed with both temporary and permanent residents in mind. Because of the excellent management which adeptly catered to newcomers like Yaan, it didn't take long to find a residential area with homes available for rent. He opted for the cheapest option. Even this still cost him the exorbitant price of one Rank 2 recovery pill every other month.
He was presented with a small temple surrounded by a humble garden.
There were only three small floors to the temple, it was really lacking compared to the grand palaces at the Yuso Clan. However, Yaan much preferred this sort of minimalistic home, he could cultivate here peacefully, which was all that he needed and desired.
That said, Yaan had no intention of secluding himself in this little temple. If he wanted to shut himself away from the cultivation world, then he would have simply stayed in one of the mortal countries.
He came to North Ghu City because this place was a cultivation haven, rife with opportunity and resources!
Yaan had no choice but to commit himself to body cultivation for now. With a crippled dantian, the only way for him to improve was to continue consuming large amounts of resources. This consumption was essential if he wanted to increase his vital energy and his bodily strength.
He had never forgotten Rui's final words of advice, shortly before she fell into a deep slumber. She claimed that so long as he attained a 4-Star demonic body and formed his vital core, then he would be able to repair his crippled dantian. She also mentioned that he should increase the strength of his physical flesh, to supplement the strength granted to his body by his vital energy.
The restoration of his dantian was of course highly desirable to Yaan, so he made this his long term goal.
After spending the night resting in his temple, Yaan set out into the city to explore.
Save for a few locations, the entirety of North Ghu City was accessible to everyone who paid the entry fee to cross the stone arch gate. The most obvious forbidden ground was the centre of the city. This place was restricted to all outsiders, only members of the Ghu Clan had permission to enter. It was rumoured that the city centre was the residence of the Origin Soul realm powerhouse who ruled over the city!
There were also some other places that were restricted to the general public, but all of these areas were blocked off with formations, whilst signs were plastered across the gates, informing outsiders to stay away. It was impossible to accidentally stumble into these regions, so Yaan didn't need to worry too much about it.
For the most part, North Ghu City was a free land where demonic and righteous path cultivators could come together, without needing to worry about their troubles in the outside world. Fighting within the city was strictly prohibited outside of the battle arenas, and it seemed that nobody would dare to break a rule set in place by the Ghu Clan.
This explained why North Ghu City attracted many demonic cultivators. Demonic cultivators, particularly those without a sect or clan backing them, often resorted to stealing and killing in order to earn resources for their cultivation. This inevitably led to them developing many enemies, including some whom they simply couldn't deal with. A place like North Ghu City was a safe haven to such people.
That's not to say that North Ghu City was completely filled with Qi masters of the demonic path though. In the first place, the righteous path was far more prominent. In fact, it was often claimed that righteous path cultivators outnumbered those of the demonic path by twenty to one in the outside world! Even in North Ghu City, there were most likely four or five righteous path Qi masters to every one of the demonic faction.
The demonic path was simply too dangerous, and cultivating without a backing was extremely difficult. Even the Ghu Clan, the ruling power of the Ghu Province, had much lower numbers than some of the less affluent righteous clans. Pushing their clansmen into an endless number of life and death trials ensured that strong Qi masters emerged from the wreckage, but for every powerhouse who stood at the top, there were a thousand unfortunate clansmen who perished along the way.
As Yaan walked through the streets, he curiously wondered about the people around him. Were they righteous or demonic? Why had they come to Ghu City? How did these people who seemed to travel alone become so powerful?
Previously, Yaan worried that it might be difficult to progress without the support of the Heavenly Path Sect, but seeing so many solitary powerhouses instilled him with a sense of hope. If others could do it, if others were able to rise up with their own abilities, then he could do so too!
It only took him a few minutes to leave the residential area that was filled with quaint temples similar to his own, before he stepped into a thriving street. On entering this new street, he blinked in surprise at the lively and bustling atmosphere all around.
It actually reminded him of the street vendors in the mortal kingdoms, though of course, this sort of splendour could never be found in a mortal nation.
"Hey young master, are you new here?"
Yaan turned towards the person who just addressed him seemingly from nowhere. He narrowed his eyes, raising his caution towards the skinny young man who wore an honest smile.
"Woah, no need to get hostile!" The young man stepped back and showed an amicable smile. He didn't seem afraid or even too surprised by Yaan's reaction. "Young master, my name is Leon, I work as a tour guide for this area. How about it, need a guide?"
Yaan examined this young man closely. Now that he paid attention, it became obvious that this person was only a Qi Gathering realm Qi master. Someone like this couldn't pose him a threat in the least.
If a Qi master restrained their aura, it was difficult to estimate their strength unless your own cultivation was of a higher realm. When a Qi master released their aura though, whilst it was impossible to fully see through all the complexities of their cultivation, it was possible to estimate their strength based on the power of their aura. Of course, this sort of estimation was only possible if you had experience with likewise auras.
The skinny young man was currently releasing his aura to quell Yaan's caution. This was indeed effective, there was simply no need for Yaan to be wary of a Qi Gathering realm Qi master…that said, he retained a trace of wariness as he remembered how that Yuso Clan young man had used a shocking treasure to disguise his cultivation!
He quickly calmed down after thinking about it some more. Honestly, such treasures were extremely rare. It was only possible for that Yuso Clansmen to use such a thing because it was lent to him by the Yuso Clan Lord.
It was entirely possible that this skinny young man was a demon with a 1-Star body, but the chances of this were extremely slim. Based on what he understood, Yaan believed that demons and demonic body cultivators were not common in the Ghu Province. Actually, Rui said that body cultivation wasn't particularly common in the world as a whole.
In the end, Yaan decided that a tour guide would indeed be quite useful. He wasn't at all familiar with this city, a local guide could certainly help him to build up a better understanding of the area.
"How much?" Yaan asked directly. Hearing that he had a chance, Leon revealed a happy smile.
"Five Rank 1 recovery pills!"
On hearing such a price, Yaan raised an eyebrow. He could easily afford this, but it seemed quite steep just to have a Qi Gathering realm person give him a tour…
Seeing Yaan's doubtful expression, Leon laughed mischievously, winking at Yaan as he spoke.
"Haha, young master, you should know that I'm extremely familiar with this area! If there's anything you need to buy, I can help you get the best deals. You'll definitely save more than five Rank 1 recovery pills!"
Yaan nodded slowly. This made sense. Whilst his total wealth added up to around 50 Rank 2 vital recovery pills, which was a fairly large sum of wealth for someone at his realm, this was far from enough to spend frivolously. If he could save just a fraction on the things he needed to buy, then it was certainly worth paying the premium for this tour guide.
Whilst Leon could be lying to him in an attempt to con him out of more money, it really wasn't a big sum anyway, so Yaan was willing to take the risk.
"Fine, I'll pay it." Yaan finally agreed, causing Leon's expression to brighten further. Usually people would try to pay him less, but this person unexpectedly agreed with his first asking price!
Well, Leon would never properly help out those stingy people who paid him less anyway.
"Thank you young master, I'll be sure to show you around properly!"
"Mm."
In a mortal village, the scene of a young man acting so flatteringly to a child like Yaan would be considered very strange, but this was nothing much to Qi masters. Not only was it difficult to estimate a Qi master's age based on their appearance alone, but the world of cultivation valued power above all else, one's age was not very important. If anything, a young looking Qi master with a powerful cultivation base was more terrifying than an older looking person, due to their high potential for rapid growth.
"Young master, do you have a map of the city yet?" Leon suddenly asked as they began to walk through the market's busy street.
"I don't." Yaan shook his head. "Do you know where I can obtain one?"
"Of course, of course! Lots of places sell maps, but many of them lack detail and some are way too overpriced. There's a stall further down this street that sells detailed maps for three Rank 1 recovery pills, it's definitely the best price."
Yaan agreed to Leon's suggestion. It seemed a bit expensive for a mere map, but he understood immediately once he saw this map for himself.
This map was in presented in the form of a one hundred page long book. The front pages showed the entirety of North Ghu City, whilst each consecutive page presented a closer, more detailed image of different city regions. After paying the man behind this ordinary looking stall with three Rank 1 recovery pills, they continued to walk down the market street. Their speed was slow and Yaan kept looking around curiously, since he wanted to become more familiar with these places.
"As you can see, the city becomes more high class and refined the closer you get to the centre. We're still in the outer sector, so street vendors can freely market their wares here, but this isn't possible in the inner sector. Anyone can enter the inner sector freely, but living there is too expensive for most. Anyway, all of the shops down there are top end and only sell expensive stuff, so you don't see many weaker Qi masters there often."
Leon was talkative and explained many things to Yaan. He described the city's structure as a whole, whilst also providing more specifics regarding this current area that Yaan had chosen to settle down in. Leon was actually born in this city and made a living as a tour guide, so he was very well versed in the culture and environment here.
"You want to know how you can earn money in the city?" As they travelled through the various market streets, residence areas, battle arenas and so on, Yaan ended up asking the main question on his mind.
How could he earn more money? If he wanted to continue cultivating his demonic body, then money was a necessity. His expenditure would only become increasingly extreme as he cultivated further, so it was imperative that he found a means to fund his cultivation.
Leon pondered over Yaan's question for a minute in silence, before finally answering.
"There are a few ways to earn money in the city…the two most straight forward methods would be to either get a job or join the battle arena."
Yaan was indeed intrigued by the battle arena, where participants could fight one another, either to the death or not, depending on the agreement. All participants in the battle arena would earn a share of the spectator's fee, as well as a portion of their opponent's belongings.
Whilst he was somewhat interested in this, Yaan didn't feel like becoming such a public figure just yet, as doing so would lead to many people watching and paying attention to him. With a crowd that large, some people would be sure to notice that he never used Yuan Qi and that his body was strangely durable. There would naturally be those who were familiar with demonic body cultivators, and he still wasn't sure if this would invite trouble.
"What jobs are available in the city?" Yaan asked curiously.
"You can join the city guard, work for a shop or other organisation, or open your own shop or business, same as any other city really." Leon replied. He didn't say anything, but he could tell that this was Yaan's first time in a city. Anyone familiar with cities would never ask these sorts of basic questions where the answers were universal across almost all cultivation cities.
"Well, there is another way to earn money and riches when you live in this city…" Leon suddenly said, but then looked hesitant to continue.
"Oh?" Yaan raised an eyebrow.
Leon seemed to debate over whether or not he should explain further, but eventually he sighed, deciding to just come out and say it.
"There's an inheritance site just outside of the city that opens once every ten years. I've only seen it open twice, it should be opening again in three years time. It's just that…this inheritance site is too dangerous, more than 90% of the people who enter, never return. Even Spirit Core realm powerhouses have been known to perish within, it's too terrifying!"
Leon shivered slightly. He was just a Qi Gathering realm orphan, forced to make his way through life after being born into this city. The whole reason that he was an orphan was exactly thanks to that inheritance site. His mother entered that place 7 years ago, never to return. Because of this, Leon felt an extreme sense of caution towards the inheritance, such that he was reluctant to even tell others about it.
After buying some more materials, Yaan tipped Leon with another Rank 1 recovery pill as thanks for his help. He had certainly saved far more than he payed Leon today, it only felt normal to give him a small tip. To , this much was nothing, but to Leon, it was another precious resource that he could trade for something to assist with his cultivation.
That night, Yaan sat alone inside his temple hall and mulled over his options. He planned to stay in this city for a long period of time, or at least, it would be a long time to him, who had only lived for a little over 11 years.
"This inheritance site sounds interesting, but it's too dangerous to enter a place like that without knowing anything about it. Besides, that's three years away." Yaan murmured to himself.
He knew about inheritance sites, both from Rui and from his old teacher. Inheritance sites were often left behind by powerful cultivators when they reached the end of their lifespan. It was a final effort to preserve their legacy through future generations. Obtaining the inheritance of a powerhouse could allow an ordinary person to ascend to greatness in a single step.
However, these inheritances varied dramatically depending on the individual who left them behind. Some inheritances left by demonic path cultivators were so dangerous that almost nobody emerged alive.
"I need resources, but I also need to learn more about the various materials of the cultivation world so that I can better identify valuable things. It's settled…I will get a job in a trading store!"
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