Chapter 1290: Temporarily Parting

"The city lord has ordered us to assist Commander Zhao, and we will naturally lend a hand," a faint male voice immediately came from within the city gate. Following this, a white-robed scholar and a monk in a green kasaya emerged.

The scholar, who appeared to be in his forties, was the one speaking.

Commander Zhao did not dare to slight these two cultivators and quickly thanked them with a smile.

The scholar took out a mirror, and the monk produced a bronze alms bowl. Both began to chant incantations, forming hand seals with one hand, and simultaneously tossed their magical artifacts into the air.

Immediately, the two artifacts spun rapidly in the air. A surge of green mist sprayed from the mirror, enveloping the foremost giant tortoise, while a sweep of yellow light flew from the round bowl, passing over several nearby giant wolf riders.

In just a moment, the green mist and yellow light moved on, darting towards other targets behind them.

In this manner, the two cultivators inspected the tortoise-drawn carriages one by one, with the green and yellow lights flashing alternately, not missing anyone.

In a blink of an eye, over thirty carriages and more than two hundred people had been scanned by both types of light, revealing no issues.

"Alright, you may enter. Oh, and a quick note: Madam Fang has booked the largest 'Ru Yun' Inn in the west of the city. You can go directly there to meet up after you deliver the goods," Commander Zhao said, his expression softening. Without further difficulties, he casually spoke and then raised his hand to allow them passage.

The scar-faced man paused, then immediately clasped his hands and led the convoy through the city gate.

Only upon entering the city gate did they realize the immense size of the stone city, far exceeding Han Li's initial predictions.

At a glance, countless houses filled the city, seemingly stretching endlessly. However, the city appeared to have been well-planned during its construction. Although the styles of the houses varied, and the materials used—stone, wood, etc.—differed greatly, they were all arranged neatly, leaving wide bluestone streets several *zhang* in width.

At this moment, the enormous city was bustling, with crowds swarming every street, making them appear extremely congested.

Han Li was momentarily stunned by this sight but then noticed that most of the people walking on the streets carried weapons like swords and blades, and everyone wore a grave expression.

The young woman from a foreign land, seated in the carriage, sighed softly upon seeing this scene and muttered to herself, "It seems the beast tide is truly happening. Otherwise, people who originally lived in villages outside the city wouldn't have all flocked inside. This will only increase the pressure on Anyuan City."

Hearing this, Han Li finally understood.

With so many people, it was naturally inconvenient for the convoy of tortoise-drawn carriages to pass through. Fortunately, Commander Zhao had anticipated this and specifically sent several soldiers to clear a path for the convoy. They forcibly dispersed the crowd, creating a passage for the carriages.

Even so, the tortoise carriages did not move quickly. After traveling for over half an hour, they finally crossed more than ten long streets, turned onto a much less crowded street, and eventually stopped before a multi-storied archway.

Behind this archway were several heavily guarded warehouse-like buildings, with armed guards carrying various weapons visible everywhere nearby.

The rest of the process was much simpler. The members of the Tiandong Trading Company handed over their goods one by one to the warehouse officials responsible for acceptance. After Zhang Kui received the receipt, he breathed a sigh of relief and led everyone directly towards the west of the city, as Commander Zhao had indicated.

Han Li, whose mobility had been fully restored, was naturally among them. However, halfway there, he suddenly suggested to Zhang Kui that he wished to look around the city for a while and would meet up with the Tiandong Trading Company members at the Ru Yun Inn later.

Zhang Kui frowned upon hearing Han Li's request. After a brief consideration, he agreed but cautioned him:

"Brother Han, you haven't met Madam yet, so you're not officially part of the company. I shouldn't restrict you too much. However, you must have noticed that Anyuan City is quite chaotic and unstable right now. Besides, this city is just a remote, small place, so there's probably not much to see. If you have matters to attend to, Brother Han, please return to the inn as soon as you're done."

Although Squad Leader Zhang had a fierce appearance, his words were remarkably tactful.

Han Li smiled slightly, assented, and then drifted away, completely disappearing after turning a street corner.

Watching the direction Han Li disappeared, Zhang Kui stroked his chin with his rough hand, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Master Zhang, are you worried Brother Han won't return?" Nan Qizi, standing beside the scar-faced man, suddenly asked with a smile.

"Having signed the blood curse document, how could I worry about that? It's just that this Brother Han truly seems to be someone of considerable background, making him a bit inscrutable," Zhang Kui replied, recovering his thoughts with a wry smile.

"To possess such astonishing body-refining techniques at such a young age, it's naturally unlikely he came from an ordinary background. However, observing his demeanor, he indeed doesn't resemble someone from our Tianyuan territory. This is quite likely true," Nan Qizi commented with a smile.

"Hmm, I've noticed that as well," Zhang Kui's expression turned serious. "But as long as he doesn't get involved with the other major powers within our Tianyuan territory, even if his background is problematic, our Tiandong Trading Company doesn't need to worry. If he's well-trained, this person might genuinely be able to cultivate the fifth level of the Vajra Art. If so, he would certainly become a great asset to Madam."

"The fifth level of the Vajra Art? Master Zhang, you truly dare to think so grandly. That's a level of existence capable of directly contending with our Core Formation cultivators without falling behind," Nan Qizi glanced at the scar-faced man, a half-smile on his face.

"I suppose I am a bit overly ambitious," Zhang Kui chuckled. "But with his current cultivation at such a young age, who can guarantee he won't cultivate the fifth level of the Vajra Art within a hundred years? In terms of opportunity, he seems to have a much greater chance than ordinary body refiners like myself. Otherwise, I wouldn't have hesitated to have him sign the blood curse document back in the Qingluo Desert."

"That makes sense," Nan Qizi conceded. "Well, let's not talk about him anymore. Our fellow disciples and I were hired by Madam Fang to look after your convoy. Now that the goods have been safely delivered, we have fulfilled our agreement. It's time for us to take our leave." Nan Qizi bowed slightly and calmly stated his departure.

"Oh, are the esteemed Daoist priests not going to see Madam anymore...? In that case, farewell, esteemed Daoist priests!" Zhang Kui showed no surprise. After a brief, unsuccessful attempt to persuade them to stay, he offered a respectful farewell.

As a result, these cultivators from Goulu Mountain departed from the group and went their way.

"What a pity," a knight nearby remarked, once the Daoist priests had departed. "If only our trading company could have its own cultivators."

"Our own cultivators? That's just wishful thinking," the scar-faced man sighed lightly. "Although our Tiandong Trading Company is known as one of the three largest trading companies in the Tianyuan territory, the spirit stones we earn each year are barely enough to constantly employ cultivators. Low-level immortal cultivators in the Qi Refining stage are roughly comparable in strength to body refiners like us; hiring them isn't very useful. As for Foundation Establishment cultivators, the spirit stones they consume annually are astonishingly high, so our company only occasionally hires them when we encounter a major business deal. As for cultivators above Core Formation, that's completely out of the question. High-level cultivators can find rare materials or refine artifacts and spiritual tools wherever they please, which are far beyond the value of the spirit stones our company can provide. Even if our company painstakingly cultivated intermediate-level cultivators, they would eventually leave anyway."

"That's true," the knight also sighed with emotion. "Even the most outstanding among us body refiners, once they achieve success in their cultivation, will immediately rush to dangerous foreign lands, searching everywhere for the spiritual medicines that can spontaneously generate spiritual roots. They all want to become cultivators. After all, once one becomes a cultivator, not only can they cultivate immortal techniques, but their extended lifespan is also irresistibly appealing. Over the years, countless body refiners like us have perished outside the three territories, but still, countless more follow in their footsteps, venturing abroad."

"Enough," Zhang Kui waved his hand, not wanting to discuss the matter further. "These things have nothing to do with ordinary people like us. Let's hurry back to see Madam."

The knight immediately fell silent.

So the group left the area, quickly getting lost in the sea of people on the streets.

Meanwhile, Han Li was already standing on a nearby street, gazing up at the seven dazzling white suns in the sky, letting out a long, depressed sigh.

As soon as he emerged from the Qingluo Desert and entered the grasslands, he immediately sensed the astonishing spiritual energy pervading the air.

The concentration of spiritual energy in this realm was indeed several times greater than in the human world. If he could find an even better cultivation spot, it might not be impossible for the spiritual energy to be dozens of times denser.

Unfortunately, his Nascent Soul had already dissipated, and he still had the restrictions planted by the Ice Phoenix on his body, preventing him from absorbing even a trace of this spiritual energy.

This naturally left him feeling somewhat helpless.

He walked along the current street, observing the passersby and the various shops on both sides.

These shops were largely similar to those in the human world, offering nothing particularly rare.

Suddenly, he stopped, his gaze falling upon a storefront. After a slight hesitation, he actually walked inside and began to examine the items displayed within.

All around were long sandalwood tables, glinting with cold light, covered with various weapons like swords, spears, axes, and halberds. It was clearly a weapons shop.

The interior was not large, with only two assistants attending to customers, but there were quite a few patrons looking at items. These, of course, were all ordinary mortals.

Han Li had entered because he noticed the unassuming exterior of the shop, yet its business was so good, which piqued his interest.

"Esteemed customer, have you found anything you like? How about this Golden-Backed Nine-Ringed Saber? This saber is forged from bird iron; not only can it cut through iron like mud, but it's also quite heavy, making it the best weapon for dealing with wolf-beasts," an assistant said, having finished serving another customer, finally noticing Han Li's presence and hurrying over with a fawning smile.

He was referring to a large ringed saber that Han Li was looking at. It was dark and dull, appearing incredibly heavy at first glance.