Chapter 4304: 金霄城

Joyous City governs seven Heavenly Cities, and Golden Sky City is one of them.

The Golden Sky Mountain Range, stretching for trillions of miles, is located in the southwestern part of the Chaos Continent. Deep within the mountain range, a magnificent colossal city can be seen. Its city walls, thousands of feet high, are built from massive blocks of golden jade, shimmering with golden light under the sun. The towering city walls extended in both directions, stretching as far as the eye could see, their boundaries completely out of sight.

Above the city gate, a silver square plaque hung, bearing three large, gleaming golden characters: "Golden Sky City."

A queue of cultivators, comprising various races including humans, demons, devils, and witches, were lining up to enter the city.

A long azure rainbow appeared on the distant horizon, swiftly approaching Golden Sky City. When the azure rainbow was within a million miles of Golden Sky City, its speed slowed. The light dissipated, revealing a shimmering azure flying boat. Three men and one woman stood on its deck. The one leading them was a young man in a blue robe with ordinary features. Judging by his aura, he was clearly a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

"Ancestor, we've arrived at Golden Sky City," Wang Mengshan said.

The young man in the blue robe was naturally Wang Changsheng, accompanied by Wang Mengshan, Wu Yan, and Su Tianya. Wu Yan was a Witch, Su Tianya was a Devil, while Wang Mengshan and Wang Changsheng were Humans. Golden Sky City was a melting pot, with immortals from various races gathered there. To facilitate gathering information, Wang Mengshan had brought Wu Yan and Su Tianya along.

Wang Changsheng formed a hand seal, and the azure flying boat slowly descended. They disembarked. Wang Changsheng put away the azure flying boat, and the four of them walked towards Golden Sky City.

They joined the queue and reached the city gate, where a burly man in a golden robe with thick eyebrows and large eyes sat behind a long green table, collecting entry fees.

"One thousand monochrome crystal nuclei for a short stay, ten thousand monochrome crystal nuclei for a long stay," the burly man in the golden robe announced.

Wang Changsheng took out a golden storage bracelet and handed it to the burly man. The burly man scanned it with his divine sense, then took out a palm-sized golden jade token with the character "长" (long/permanent) engraved on its front. He handed it to Wang Changsheng with both hands, saying respectfully, "Please keep this safe, Senior. There will be patrol teams inspecting inside the city. This is your residence permit. Without a residence permit, you cannot reside in the city. If discovered, you will be fined for minor offenses, and your immortal power will be abolished for severe ones."

"If my spirit beasts wish to move around the city, do they also need residence permits?" Wang Changsheng asked.

"Indeed," the burly man in the golden robe replied. "If you merely keep them at your residence and they don't venture outside, then naturally, no permit is required."

"Then I'll buy three more long-stay residence permits," Wang Changsheng said. He took out an azure storage bracelet and handed it to the burly man. The burly man scanned it with his divine sense, nodded, and took out three golden jade tokens, handing them to Wang Changsheng with both hands.

Wang Changsheng put away the jade tokens and strode into Golden Sky City. Wang Mengshan and the other two had each purchased permanent residence permits. Golden Sky City could clearly make a fortune just from these permit fees. However, this also meant the city was a mixed bag of individuals, and it was certain that some fake immortals would be among them.

There was a reason Joyous City and its subordinate cities dared to operate this way. Joyous City was located far in the rear. For Chaos Beasts to reach Joyous City, they would first have to conquer other immortal cities. For tens of millions of years, Joyous City and its subordinate cities had not encountered any sieges from Chaos Beasts, making them exceptionally safe. Kunlun Immortal City, however, could not afford such a policy, as it would easily allow spies to infiltrate.

Stepping into Golden Sky City, Wang Changsheng saw countless towering buildings, densely packed and stretching to the horizon. Cultivators of various races were visible everywhere. He walked towards a bustling street, while Wang Mengshan and the other two dispersed to gather information.

"Senior, do you need a guide?" A plump man in a green robe quickly approached him and asked politely. Judging by his aura, he was only at the Mahayana stage.

"What are your fees?" Wang Changsheng asked.

"One crystal nucleus from a True Immortal-stage colorless Chaos Beast, and I will accompany you for a hundred years," the man in the green robe said cautiously.

Wang Changsheng took out a colorless crystal nucleus, tossed it to the man in the green robe, and instructed, "Lead the way! Tell me about Golden Sky City."

"Alright, thank you, Senior! My name is Chen Peng. I grew up in Golden Sky City and know every nook and cranny of this place." The man in the green robe accepted the crystal nucleus with a beaming smile, introduced himself, and then led the way. He provided a detailed introduction to Golden Sky City's layout, notable shops, major powers, recent interesting anecdotes, and more.

"Some time ago, the leader of the Green Crane Merchant Alliance was attacked while escorting goods. The entire convoy was wiped out. Even the Green Crane Merchant Alliance leader, a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, met a tragic end," Chen Peng said with a regretful tone.

"It seems this place isn't entirely safe either!" Wang Changsheng frowned and said.

"It's quite safe inside the city, though prices here are higher than elsewhere, making it unaffordable for ordinary immortals. Outside the city, robberies and killings are common. However, committing such acts also carries great risks. Over a hundred thousand years ago, a group of evil cultivators attacked a Golden Immortal cultivator. This individual had actually comprehended the Divine Soul Law, eliminating most of their enemies before disappearing without a trace," Chen Peng explained.

"Do you know the name or surname of that Golden Immortal who mastered the Divine Soul Law?" Wang Changsheng asked.

"I don't know. There are too many rumors. The Pavilion of a Hundred Knowledge certainly knows, but their fees are not cheap," Chen Peng replied.

"For a Golden Immortal to comprehend the Divine Soul Law, that person must be incredibly capable!" Wang Changsheng exclaimed.

"Indeed! That incident caused quite a stir at the time, though I hadn't been born yet. There are too many versions of the story, making it hard to distinguish truth from falsehood. The Pavilion of a Hundred Knowledge has a branch in the city, Senior, so if you're interested, you could inquire there," Chen Peng said.

"Aside from that, are there any other unusual or interesting stories?" Wang Changsheng asked casually.

"A million years ago, someone discovered the secluded abode where a Grand Unity Golden Immortal had passed away. It's said there was an Enlightenment Fruit inside, which alarmed many Grand Unity Golden Immortals. The matter caused a huge commotion and took a long time to settle down," Chen Peng stated, adding that he had only heard these stories secondhand and couldn't verify them.

"An Enlightenment Fruit!" Wang Changsheng exclaimed in surprise. If that were true, that Grand Unity Golden Immortal would be extraordinary indeed. It seemed there were many valuable treasures here, but the territory was far more chaotic than that of Kunlun Immortal City. Without sufficient power, one could easily be taken advantage of.

As Chen Peng led the way, he continued to recount the various interesting anecdotes he had heard to Wang Changsheng.

Two hours later, Wang Changsheng and Chen Peng arrived at the entrance of a nine-story golden pavilion. A plaque above the door bore the three golden characters "Pavilion of a Hundred Knowledge," and many cultivators were seen entering and exiting.

"You don't need to come in with me. I'll be out later," Wang Changsheng instructed. He gave the instruction and strode inside.

The main hall of the Pavilion of a Hundred Knowledge was spacious and brightly lit, with several private rooms. After Wang Changsheng subtly released the powerful aura of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, a sweet-looking young woman in a golden dress quickly approached him and said enthusiastically, "Welcome to our establishment, Senior. How may I be of service?"