The Vastness of Great Qi and a Trip to Qibao Hall

“Are the arrangements for your martial arts competition days in the Imperial City all settled?”

That day, Su Hanxing, travel-worn but vibrant, returned to the residence they shared. Noticing his flushed complexion and cheerful demeanor, Chi Qiu immediately inquired.

“I’ve finally managed to settle all their arrangements,” Su Hanxing replied, “It was far more arduous than I’d anticipated.” As he stepped into the courtyard, he found Chi Qiu leaning back, leisurely brewing tea.

Chi Qiu’s hair was disheveled, her whole posture exuding a relaxed, unkempt laziness. Su Hanxing grinned, then, with an easy familiarity, he sidled up to her. He picked up a teacup that Chi Qiu had already filled and drained its contents in a single gulp.

“The tea is still warm?” Su Hanxing asked, looking at Chi Qiu with a touch of surprise after finishing the cup.

“You arrived at just the right moment,” Chi Qiu replied, “I had only just started brewing it.” She shifted her body slightly, creating a little more distance between herself and Su Hanxing.

Su Hanxing merely smiled, glancing at the thoroughly cooled teapot beside Chi Qiu, and said nothing more.

A faint weariness etched itself between Su Hanxing’s brows as he asked, “Shall we rest a while before heading to Qibao Hall?”

“No need,” she replied, “you go quickly get ready. We’ll leave for Qibao Hall at once.” Su Hanxing shook his head. As a God Concealing stage cultivator, he naturally wouldn’t feel tired from such a minor exertion.

“Alright, then please wait a moment for me,” Chi Qiu said, nodding as she rose and returned to her bedroom.

Onboard the flying vessel, Chi Qiu sat cross-legged on a futon, addressing Su Hanxing.

“I’ve clarified the matter you asked me about earlier,” she began. “The Qingyuan Sect is likely located within Cuiya Commandery in Huangzhou.”

This was a task Su Hanxing had entrusted to Chi Qiu a few days prior, asking her to visit the Spirit Painting Pavilion at the beginning of the month and inquire with Chai Niang about the province where Qingyuan Sect was located.

“Knowing the province makes things much simpler,” Su Hanxing remarked, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. He nodded slightly, quite pleased.

Since he intended to investigate the Qingyuan Sect, he naturally needed to proceed with utmost caution. Therefore, even when purchasing information at Qibao Hall, he couldn’t directly mention the Qingyuan Sect. Instead, he had to probe indirectly.

“Huangzhou, huh…” Chi Qiu mused, shaking her head slightly. “I’ve never been there before.”

Her words carried a distinct sense of yearning. When she had still been in her male form, she had traveled extensively across the world. Yet, how vast was the territory of Daqi? From the moment Chi Qiu became a cultivator until her participation in the first martial arts tournament, many years had passed, and she had never once left Cenzhou. This journey, then, marked Chi Qiu’s very first departure from Cenzhou to visit other regions.

“Huangzhou is incredibly far from here,” Su Hanxing explained. “If we relied solely on this vessel, even after eleven months of continuous travel, we likely wouldn’t reach it.”

With a flick of his wrist, a jade slip materialized in his hand.

“At this speed, we still wouldn’t reach Huangzhou in eleven months?” Chi Qiu exclaimed, her eyes widening in astonishment at Su Hanxing’s words.

Su Hanxing’s original Jade Sand Skiff had been destroyed, but with his greatly increased strength over the years, he had soon acquired another flying vessel of comparable quality. The Jade Sand Skiff was a top-grade magical artifact, capable of continuous flight for eleven months. What an immense distance that implied! Yet, Su Hanxing now claimed it still wouldn’t reach Huangzhou, leaving Chi Qiu utterly astounded.

“Exactly,” Su Hanxing replied with a smile. “But it’s not too far off. Take a look, Little Chi.”

As he spoke, he channeled his true qi into the jade slip. Instantly, a somewhat ethereal map, constructed from true qi, materialized before them. The map, formed of true qi, spanned dozens of chi in both length and width, appearing even larger than the flying vessel beneath their feet. It was densely marked with countless characters and symbols.

“Here is the Imperial City,” Su Hanxing stated, his finger hovering over the map’s center. There, a perfectly square city, an inch in length and width, was labeled with the four characters: Daqi Imperial City.

“This area is Cenzhou, and Huangzhou, where we are headed…” Su Hanxing then successively pointed out the locations of Cenzhou and Huangzhou on the map. Two vast, irregularly shaped territories, several dozens of chi in length and width, were distributed across the map’s northwest and central regions. A narrow stretch of land separated these two territories.

“Cenzhou is situated in the central region of Daqi, while Huangzhou lies slightly to the northwest,” Su Hanxing explained. “Furthermore, Daizhou separates the two provinces, so the distance is naturally immense.”

Su Hanxing turned to look at Chi Qiu, only to find her staring intently at the colossal map, her eyes unblinking. He found the sight utterly endearing.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a map depicting such a vast territory,” Chi Qiu murmured, seemingly oblivious to Su Hanxing’s previous explanation. She nodded to herself, marveling slowly.

“Though this map is vast, it doesn’t encompass the entirety of Daqi,” Su Hanxing elaborated, seeing her engrossed. “A truly complete map of Daqi would be significantly larger than this one.”

Witnessing Chi Qiu’s captivated gaze, Su Hanxing chose not to put away the map immediately, opting instead to continue his explanation.

“How many Spirit Pills would one need to acquire a map like this?” Chi Qiu inquired. From the day she became a cultivator, besides avenging her family, Chi Qiu’s greatest desire had been to roam freely across the world. Thus, seeing such a vast and detailed map stirred her heart immensely.

“My master gifted me this map, so I’m unsure of its exact value,” Su Hanxing replied, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t know how many Spirit Pills it would cost to purchase one. However, we’ll soon arrive at Qibao Hall; we can inquire there.”

Chi Qiu nodded, refraining from asking further about the map, and simply gazed silently at the colossal map spanning dozens of chi.

“Steward Liu, I’ve come to Qibao Hall to acquire some information,” Su Hanxing stated as he and Chi Qiu entered the tea room. Facing them was a steward named Liu.

“And what information might the young master be seeking?” Steward Liu asked, his eyes gleaming with delight, a smile spreading across his face upon hearing Su Hanxing’s words. Selling information incurred almost no cost for Qibao Hall, and its intelligence was notoriously expensive. This was precisely why Steward Liu was so pleased.

“I wish to know about all the significant powers that have emerged in Cuiya Commandery, Huangzhou, over the past century,” Su Hanxing said leisurely, settling into a chair within the tea room.

“This is easily managed,” Steward Liu replied, “It will only cost fifty thousand Spirit Pills.” Hearing the nature of the information Su Hanxing wished to acquire, a slight regret flickered in the steward’s heart. However, his expression remained unchanged, still beaming with a warm smile. The information wasn’t particularly difficult to obtain, so the price wasn’t excessively high. A significant portion of those fifty thousand Spirit Pills was, in fact, the cost of a map.

“Furthermore,” Su Hanxing continued, taking a shallow sip from his teacup, “I require a flying spiritual treasure of at least Primordial Spirit Treasure grade.”

A look of astonishment once again appeared on Steward Liu’s face. He immediately bowed slightly and replied, “I shall fetch the catalog of magical artifacts for you to peruse, young master.”

“Do either of you require any other treasures?” Steward Liu inquired, noticing Su Hanxing turn his head to glance at Chi Qiu. With keen perception, he stepped forward and addressed Chi Qiu directly.

“A map?” Chi Qiu asked, seeing Steward Liu look at her.

“Ah, that… the price depends on the map’s detail and scope,” Steward Liu answered, stroking his chin with a thoughtful expression. “It’s hard to say, hard to say.”

“What’s the cheapest price?” Chi Qiu pressed.

“The cheapest complete map of Daqi in Qibao Hall sells for two million Spirit Pills,” Steward Liu replied without hesitation, answering Chi Qiu’s question.

“My apologies,” Chi Qiu said, her mouth snapping shut immediately after hearing the price. She picked up her teacup and took a sip of the spiritual tea, feigning nonchalance.

“This tea is quite delightful,” Chi Qiu whispered to Su Hanxing after finishing her sip. “I’d like to buy some to enjoy on the journey.” Her stock of spiritual tea was nearly depleted, and with a long journey ahead, having some to savor along the way seemed like an excellent idea.

“If Miss Chi enjoys it,” Steward Liu said with a smile, “Qibao Hall would be pleased to offer some as a gift.”

Chi Qiu paused, then bowed her head slightly. “Thank you very much,” she said.