Chapter 557: Initial Arrival at Lingxu

Chapter 553: First Arrival at Lingxu

“Climb to the top of Wolong Dam, and you’ll see Lingxu City,” Fu Shanyue said, not without a sigh, as he revisited the old place years later, raising his horse whip and pointing forward.

He had to channel his true strength to speak, otherwise, the roaring water would drown out his voice, and no one would hear him clearly. A group of over a hundred people walked along the dike beside the Wolong River.

The mighty river surged, but after entering the “Z”-shaped terrain, its width drastically narrowed to just over one hundred and ten *zhang*, causing the waves to rage and crash down a fault line, creating a waterfall with a drop of over twenty *zhang*. From a distance, the waterfall looked like a wide curtain.

Wolong Dam, situated close to the river, was perpetually shrouded in mist. Even mounted on his rock goat, He Lingchuan could feel the tremor caused by the furious waves pounding the dam. The sun shone brightly, reflecting two consecutive rainbows on the water’s surface.

This was Lingxu City’s welcoming waterfall. Anyone who arrived here first experienced a forceful display of power, a reminder of their own insignificance.

Baykal’s roads were always wide and flat. With little effort, the group ascended to the top of Wolong Dam, carried along by the vast flow of travelers.

Despite hearing Fu Shanyue and Shao Jian describe it many times, the first sight of Lingxu City still left He Lingchuan utterly astonished. Was this really the greatest spiritual city in the world?

He thought he had stumbled into a Guilin landscape. To call it a plain seemed wrong; countless strange peaks and bizarre rocks looked as if an invisible mighty force had sliced them from mountaintops and transplanted them onto flat ground. Everywhere, craggy small mountains rose, some exquisite, some peculiar, some resembling figures. One didn’t need to ascend to the highest peaks to gaze down on all the smaller mountains and fully appreciate the perilous scenery. Yet, to call it hills also felt inaccurate; the spaces between the mountains were clearly very flat, with countless buildings rising from the ground and countless winding streams and rivers.

Since arriving in this world, this was the first time He Lingchuan had seen a city without an end. Other city-states were mostly bordered by farmland; but here, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but green forests or towering buildings.

It was also He Lingchuan’s first time seeing a city without grand gates or city walls. In Bai Ziqi’s words: “Lingxu City doesn’t need protective walls.”

If the scenery described so far still fit the description of a normal city, albeit a very large one, then everything He Lingchuan saw when he looked up far exceeded ordinary comprehension: Seven mountain peaks floated in the sky, suspended at varying heights and sizes. The lowest was only sixty or seventy *zhang* above the ground, while the highest was already in the clouds.

Each mountain peak touched neither sky nor ground, yet they hung motionless in mid-air, covered in lush green foliage, with countless waterfalls and flowing springs. Today, white clouds emerged from their crevices, drifting between the floating peaks. Beside the green peaks and white waters, glimpses of magnificent palaces could be seen. The sound of chimes and celestial music often drifted down to the human world with the wind.

It was majestic, solemn, and mysterious—the grandeur of ancient immortals could be no more than this. He Lingchuan, having faced death multiple times, possessed experience far beyond ordinary people, but seeing this ethereal, sacred landscape for the first time still left him profoundly shaken. Not to mention the other travelers; gasps and exclamations of awe filled the air.

Fu Shanyue explained to He Lingchuan: “Those seven floating islands combined are called Lingxu Upper City; the city you see on the ground is Lingxu Lower City. The Royal Palace, which is the Emperor’s residence, is located on the highest floating island, Tianxin Island, and is called Lingxiao Palace.”

As the most powerful emperor in the human realm, it was only natural to reside high above, looking down upon all living beings.

He Lingchuan marveled: “If one island is a layer of heaven, then the Emperor resides in the seventh heaven, overseeing this magnificent realm.” Bai Ziqi chuckled beside him: “Those words will surely please the Emperor.” “Such a divine and magnificent spiritual city truly deserves to be called the greatest in the world.” Flattery cost nothing, so He Lingchuan spouted it freely.

He had done his background research: Lingxu City was originally the site of the Great Revival Sect. In other words, this spiritual mountain and blessed land was once an immortal domain, later seized by Baykal. After several expansions, it became the Lingxu Upper and Lower Cities of today.

Besides the main city in the center, Lingxu Lower City also included four surrounding auxiliary cities, with a permanent population exceeding seven million. As for Lingxu Upper City’s seven floating islands, the residents numbered less than nine thousand, but including servants and attendants, the total reached two hundred thousand.

Even though he had heard the answer from Shao Jian, He Lingchuan still asked, feigning ignorance: “Excuse me, Chief Commissioner Bai, since the floating islands aren’t connected, how do residents travel between them?”

Before Bai Ziqi could answer, Fu Shanyue burst out laughing: “Within the magical artifact, mutual access is naturally possible.” He had deliberately kept this mystery to himself beforehand, wanting to surprise He Xiao. That fellow always had such a calm expression, which was annoying to watch.

“A magical artifact?” He Lingchuan indeed showed a bewildered expression. Bai Ziqi patiently explained: “Lingxu Upper City, in itself, is a magical artifact!” Jiao Yu, standing nearby, was already wide-eyed with astonishment, and He Lingchuan gasped: “These seven floating islands…”

“Yes, the seven floating islands, plus Chikan Peak in the center of Lingxu Lower City, combine to form a complete set of magical artifacts—there’s probably nothing else like it in the world.” Unless one saw it with their own eyes, it would be hard for anyone to believe such an enormous magical artifact existed!

Leading these “country bumpkins” to witness such a marvel, Bai Ziqi found it hard not to sound proud: “The artifact has its own internal system. One can freely teleport between the ground and the floating islands, and between the islands themselves, regardless of distance. It’s called ‘Jinghong Crossing.’”

Even with his prior mental preparation, He Lingchuan was speechless at this moment. An ordinary person would likely have fallen to their knees in worship. Indeed, he turned his head and saw many travelers who had just crossed the dam kneeling by the roadside, muttering prayers towards the floating islands in the sky, performing full prostrations. He, at least, couldn’t do that yet; his knees were too stiff to kneel.

After a long while, he quietly asked: “How many profound crystals does such an enormous magical artifact consume daily?”

That was the crucial point! He himself found it overwhelming just to maintain a single Golden Armored Guardian. The daily energy consumption of Lingxu Upper City, such an immense magical artifact, would surely make even a gold-devouring beast die of shame, wouldn’t it?

Bai Ziqi chuckled: “The foundation of Lingxu Upper City is Suspended Cauldron Stone, an otherworldly material that naturally floats. Its energy replenishment has another method, which you’ll hear about later. What truly consumes energy is the ‘Jinghong Crossing,’ and depending on the volume of people and goods moving in and out, it consumes at least over five hundred *jin* of low-grade profound crystals daily, with no upper limit.”

Extravagant, far too extravagant. Wasteful, incredibly wasteful!

He Lingchuan recalled the three profound crystals he carried, which he had obtained from Fu Shanyue only after risking his life investigating a case. He truly was an unworldly bumpkin back then; he should have asked for more! Given the mess he was now involved in, even three hundred wouldn’t be too much.

Then he thought of Sun Fuping, who, even after dying in the Panlong Desert, only had a few mid-grade profound crystals among his belongings. And he was the esteemed National Preceptor of a country.

Who could imagine that Lingxu Upper City consumed over five hundred *jin* of low-grade profound crystals every single day, just to cover transportation costs?

Seeing the emotion on his face, Fu Shanyue was satisfied: “Come on, let’s go into the city.” Bai Ziqi also smiled without speaking.

No matter how intelligent and quick-witted this young man was, he came from a small country after all. How could his vision and experience compare to that of a true Lingxu City resident?

Lingxu City appeared massive from a distance, but once people entered, they found themselves like a drop of water in the ocean, facing a vast and boundless expanse.

The four auxiliary cities were four large districts. After Bai Ziqi led his group into the Nanli District, he waved goodbye to Fu Shanyue. He needed to escort the prisoners to the Sky Prison and then hurry to Xushan in the north to report before nightfall, so his schedule was very tight. Fortunately, as a Chief Commissioner, he had escorts along the way, and at that moment, a transport beast carriage pulled up.

The prisoners boarded the carriage, while the Chief Commissioner and his subordinates mounted their horses, and in an instant, they sped away, leaving dust in their wake.

He Lingchuan also noticed a pale gold plaque hanging around the neck of Bai Ziqi’s mount, a spiritual deer, and other carriages and horses along the road gave way to it. Fu Shanyue explained that this was a “Rush Order” issued for official vehicles; only those with this order could travel at full speed on the main roads of Lingxu Lower City. Otherwise, all main roads had speed limits, and exceeding them would result in a fine.

Even in an auxiliary city, the main thoroughfare was wide enough for eight carriages to travel abreast. However, Lingxu City’s traffic volume was simply too immense; the main roads were bustling with vehicles, leaving very little space. Without a Rush Order, everyone had to proceed in an orderly fashion.

He Lingchuan looked at Fu Shanyue: “Don’t tell me you don’t have a Rush Order.” In the short time they had been in the city, he had already seen two or three groups with Rush Orders, galloping furiously on the main road, with everyone scrambling to get out of their way. They were all young noblemen in flamboyant attire on spirited horses, surrounded by a retinue of servants, laughing and coming and going, looking nothing like people on official business.

Fu Shanyue chuckled, pulled a plaque from his storage ring, and hung it around his mount’s neck: “Of course I have one! Giddy up!” He Lingchuan shook his head. His large-horned rock goat, without needing his urging, broke into a run, closely following Fu Shanyue through the stream of traffic.

Along the road, a certain type of pack beast often galloped back and forth: White-tailed *An*. These were essentially giant moose, with broad, forked antlers on their heads, standing nearly eight feet tall at the shoulder, and possessing exceptionally developed back muscles.

He Lingchuan often saw two white-tailed *An* pulling carriages side by side. The carriages themselves were specially made, long sections, with hooks at the back, clearly designed for additional attachments. Every few hundred *zhang*, a green wooden sign stood by the roadside with a place name written in white characters. Beside these signs, commoners often stood with dull, expressionless faces.

If someone waited near a wooden sign, a white-tailed *An* would stop, waiting for people to board. One carriage section could carry twenty-three people when full. Uh… He Lingchuan stared, dumbfounded. Wasn’t this just public transportation?

He pointed at the deer-pulled carriage and asked, “Can anyone ride this?” Fu Shanyue glanced at it, unfazed. “As long as you pay, but you’ll have to share a carriage with strangers. One passes by about every quarter of an hour or so. It’s convenient for the common folk to go out and work; they all leave early and return late.”

The white-tailed *An*-pulled carriages only operated on fixed routes and didn’t require additional drivers. However, these deer carriages only traveled within the same auxiliary city. To go to Lingxu Main City or other auxiliary cities, one had to transfer.

It was almost dark now. He Lingchuan observed casually and noticed that the deer carriages on the road were mostly full, and those who couldn’t find a seat had to squeeze in or stand. Fortunately, the moose possessed immense strength and excellent stamina, so overloading by a dozen or so people was no problem at all.

For a gigantic city, public transportation was a crucial part of its planning and design. Without these deer carriages, how could laborers move conveniently across different areas? Seven million permanent residents, plus countless transient outsiders, constantly tested the city’s capacity.