Chapter 280: Yinling City

"Om uma duotuo ye she!" Li Huowang silently chanted. As instructed by the cultivation method, he drew up the qi from his dantian.

Then, raising the bronze sword in his left hand, he powerfully stabbed it into a vibrant green bamboo shoot in front of him. The next moment, the coins on the bronze coin sword vibrated slightly. They dispersed in the air, then, guided by the red string, one by one, they plunged into the bamboo shoot. Li Huowang lifted the hilt again, and the ancient coins rapidly returned, re-forming the bronze coin sword's blade. As the bronze coin sword reassembled, the meter-tall bamboo shoot in front of Li Huowang was already shattered into pieces.

Next, Li Huowang looked at a moss-covered black stone nearby. Gripping the blade, he swiftly cleaved towards it. The next instant, he felt a powerful force emanating from the sword. It was as if he wasn't swinging the sword himself, but rather the sword was guiding his hand. Just as the bronze coin sword was about to strike the stone, it instantly disintegrated. As the empty hilt passed over the boulder, the coins, connected by the red string, reassembled and severed a decaying piece of wood several meters behind the stone.

"This sword is useful, very useful," Li Huowang thought to himself, a hint of joy in his heart as he looked at the bronze coin sword before him. Compared to his other possessions, this item was clearly much more practical, and most importantly, it had no side effects. The bronze coin sword could, to some extent, compensate for his lack of long-range attacks.

Witnessing this, Xiucai felt incredibly envious. He had gone through immense hardship to learn his divine ability, yet this person had mastered it far better in such a short time. Thinking this, Xiucai, burning with envy and excitement, approached. "Master's divine ability is unparalleled! Truly one of a kind!"

Li Huowang's expression, faced with the other's flattery, was as if he had swallowed a fly. This uneducated fellow didn't even know how to properly flatter.

"Master, what divine ability should I learn next?" Xiucai asked eagerly, his eyes filled with anticipation, voicing his most pressing question.

Li Huowang looked at the young man in front of him but didn't answer. He had made him learn the cultivation method earlier, not just to dispel the malevolence from him, but also to have him test for any pitfalls in the method beforehand. Now that his objective was achieved, Li Huowang knew he needed to consider how to deal with this "convenient" disciple. Li Huowang understood that, given Xiucai's current personality, directly expelling him from the sect probably wouldn't work. He needed to find an indirect approach.

"Learn characters. Your next step is to learn how to read," Li Huowang said, which made Xiucai愣. This wasn't what he expected. "Do you know why I learned this cultivation method faster than you? Because I can read."

"What's wrong with not knowing characters? You can still learn divine abilities without knowing them! I can even cultivate immortality!" Xiucai retorted indignantly.

"You won't learn? Fine then, don't blame me for not teaching you," Li Huowang said, turning to leave.

"Master, I was wrong!" Xiucai, extremely nervous, dropped to his knees in front of Li Huowang, bowing three times with resounding thuds. "I'll learn!"

When Li Huowang emerged from the bamboo grove, Xiucai, behind him, was already frowning, meticulously memorizing a sheet full of characters. He had never been so diligent in his entire life.

Seeing his master emerge, Mantou trotted over with short steps, wagging his tail, and gently sniffed Li Huowang's hem. Li Huowang patted the dog's head and said to the others by the ox cart, "Let's go, quickly. We need to enter Yinling City as soon as possible."

As the cart wheels rolled, Li Huowang reopened the map in his hand. According to it, a large city of Daliang, Yinling City, was not far ahead. From what he had gathered, this city was considered prominent within the entire Daliang Kingdom, serving as the fiefdom of one of Daliang's princes. Of course, Li Huowang didn't really care about the city itself. What he cared more about was that once they passed this city, it wouldn't be much further to Niuxin Mountain. Once they reached Bai Lingmiao's hometown, this arduous long journey would finally come to an end.

"Senior Brother Li, I've never been to Yinling City," Bai Lingmiao said, "I only heard from my second grand-uncle that the people in Yinling City are very wealthy. When he was young, he hunted a 'chicken-foot deer,' sold it in Yinling City, and returned to build three large tiled houses!"

"He said Yinling City was very big and beautiful, and the food was especially delicious. As a child, I often wondered just how good it could be."

Bai Lingmiao, her eyes covered by a white silk band, held onto Li Huowang's clothing hem with both hands, chattering incessantly. This was completely unlike her previous demeanor. As she spoke, Li Huowang listened in silence. One in front, one behind, they made quite a pair. To the accompaniment of Bai Lingmiao's lark-like voice, a tall, imposing city wall gradually appeared before them.

As they followed the crowd to the base of the city wall, and their bodies were entirely enveloped by its shadow, Li Huowang looked up and almost mistook it for a mountain.

"This wall... this wall..." Gouwa, his eyes wide, stammered.

"This wall is so big!" Yang Xiaohai finished his sentence for him.

"You talk too much," Gouwa said, putting his arm around his wife's waist and hurrying to catch up with the cart.

At the front of the long line, within the barbican, stood a row of guards whose uniforms bore the character for "soldier" on their chests. They were screening people one by one. Compared to Qingqiu, the security here was clearly much stricter; everything had to be inspected before passage was granted. Everyone involuntarily grew tense, tightening the black gauze on their bamboo hats. Just inside the several-meter-long barbican, Li Huowang noticed that their voices echoed.

"What's your purpose for entering the city?" the screening guard asked, his tone very cold.

"Official, we are performers. Please allow us passage," Lu Zhuangyuan, with a smiling face, handed over their travel permits. The permits were taken, and the silver hidden beneath them was thrown onto the ground. Seeing that they had permits stamped with an official seal, the guards who were about to surround them and search their belongings stepped back.

"Pass. Next."

The guard's words made Li Huowang, standing by the ox cart containing the Black Grand Elder, sigh with relief.

Once inside, Li Huowang immediately heard constant exclamations of awe around him. This was understandable; the wide streets were lined with numerous multi-story buildings. Between these buildings, a bustling, vibrant scene unfolded, like a living "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" painting. Faced with all this unfamiliar prosperity, even the experienced Lu Zhuangyuan felt somewhat at a loss. Their group stood in the middle of the road, unsure which way to go. Many people who saw their hesitation immediately showed a hint of disdain in their eyes: another group of country bumpkins who had never been to a city.

"Why panic? It's the same as always. First, find an inn to settle down," Li Huowang said, looking up and walking forward. The others quickly followed.

Li Huowang looked at everything before him with a complex expression. He truly hadn't expected such a prosperous place to exist in this world. He had thought that in this insane world, not an inch of it would be good.