The Crimson City and the Cultivator’s Embarrassment

This was Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing’s first impression of Hongshan City after entering its gates. Crimson bricks paved a road tens of zhang wide. On either side, black and red houses stood in a pleasing, staggered arrangement.

“We’ve entered Hongshan City, but there’s no mountain in sight. The city, however, is certainly red enough,” Chi Qiu remarked, blinking her eyes. The overwhelming crimson made her feel a little uneasy.

“Hongshan City… this city is quite renowned. I’ve heard a little about it before,” Su Hanxing said thoughtfully, stroking his chin as he walked beside her.

“You’ve heard of this city?” Chi Qiu asked, her eyes wide with surprise. Her surprise was understandable. Daqi stretched across an impossibly vast territory, dotted with countless cities like stars scattered across the heavens. Having fled in haste, they had simply chosen the nearest city to enter, yet Su Hanxing had somehow known of it. His breadth of knowledge was indeed astonishing.

“No need to be surprised, Little Chi. Hongshan City is quite famous,” Su Hanxing said with a soft smile, observing her expression. “I hadn’t recalled it earlier, but seeing the entire city bathed in crimson brought some memories back.”

“The ‘Red Mountain’ in Hongshan City isn’t actually a large mountain at all,” he explained. “Nor is the city built upon a mountain range. Instead, it was constructed within a colossal pit.”

“Not a mountain? Then what is it?” Chi Qiu tilted her head, looking at him.

“It’s a piece of extraterrestrial meteorite,” Su Hanxing elaborated, watching Chi Qiu’s wide-eyed gaze. “This meteorite, entirely crimson, stood tens of thousands of zhang tall and fell here tens of thousands of years ago. It carved out a massive crater, hundreds of thousands of li in circumference. Hongshan City was then built around this meteorite, within the very pit it created.”

“A meteorite from the heavens… so is all the crimson within Hongshan City due to this meteorite?” Chi Qiu asked, swiftly stepping to the right to evade Su Hanxing’s wandering hand.

“Precisely. It’s said that this meteorite holds an incredibly mysterious power,” Su Hanxing confirmed. “After it crashed, this power spread rapidly, staining everything in its path a vibrant crimson. That’s why the soil, the sand, and even the stones here are all red.”

Su Hanxing retracted his hand and nodded. “Later, a powerful cultivator discovered this meteorite,” he continued. “They diligently studied its wondrous power, eventually crafting a Heaven-tier cultivation art from it. With this art, they established a sect, the Starfall Sect, attracting many cultivators to join their ranks.”

“This great cultivator possessed an exceptionally benevolent nature. After the meteorite fell, this land had become a barren wasteland,” Su Hanxing recounted. “Yet, this cultivator, at the cost of their own cultivation, forcibly revived the area’s vitality, drawing countless mortals to seek refuge. They then led the elders and disciples of the Starfall Sect to clear mountains, quarry stone, and construct buildings, ultimately raising this grand city, Hongshan City, from the ground.”

As he spoke, Su Hanxing’s voice was filled with profound admiration, suggesting his deep respect for the powerful figure who had founded Hongshan City. “Such a character is exceedingly rare, even within Daqi,” he added. “That’s why I remembered this particular city.”

“To be a powerful cultivator, yet still show compassion for mortals, is truly admirable,” Chi Qiu said, her voice filled with respect. She nodded incessantly, her words openly conveying her approval.

It was a known truth that most cultivators, the moment they shed their mortal coil, separated themselves from ordinary mortals. They often viewed common folk as little different from livestock. Were it not for Daqi’s exceptionally strict laws against the wanton slaughter of mortals, the world’s mortal population would likely be halved.

“Su Hanxing, do you know the name of this great cultivator?” Chi Qiu asked, her curiosity piqued.

“He is the current City Lord of Hongshan City, Xue Hongshan, and also the primary origin of the city’s name,” Su Hanxing replied, gesturing toward the ground as if to indicate the powerful figure now governed the city.

“I see… It stands to reason that Senior Xue Hongshan’s power must have long since reached profound levels,” Chi Qiu said, nodding in understanding.

“Founder of the Starfall Sect, City Lord of Hongshan City… these are all positions cultivators dream of attaining,” Su Hanxing sighed, looking up at the sky.

“So, what should we do now?” After their discussion about Hongshan City and its City Lord, Chi Qiu realized they still knew nothing about the Qingyuan Sect. She halted, tugged at Su Hanxing’s sleeve, and posed her question.

“We’ll go there first,” Su Hanxing said, pointing west. “There’s a dark crimson shop, and a large banner flutters atop its roof. The characters for ‘Map’ are faintly visible on it. We’ll buy a map of Hongshan City there, then use it to find an exchange. We can see if we can gather any information about the Heart God Sect and Qingyuan Sect there.”

Chi Qiu nodded. “That sounds excellent.”

The map shop was run by a mortal elder. Even the most detailed map in his inventory proved insufficient for their needs. Fortunately, however, the map did mark a substantial trading market. Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing immediately decided to visit this market to investigate further.

While purchasing the map, Su Hanxing nearly caused an embarrassing scene. Since childhood, he had been taken by Elder Su He to cultivate within the Tianyan Sect, never actively collecting worldly gold or silver. Thus, when the mortal elder informed him the map cost five liang of silver, Su Hanxing froze in bewilderment. He searched his entire person but couldn’t even scrounge up that amount, promptly turning to Chi Qiu for help, a flush of embarrassment on his face.

Seeing this, Chi Qiu cheerfully produced a silver ingot and handed it to the elder, rescuing Su Hanxing from his awkward predicament.

“I never expected the shop owner to be a mortal,” Su Hanxing muttered, exiting the shop with the paper map. His ears were slightly red. “I’ve been a cultivator for years, and I never carry any silver or money mortals use. If you hadn’t brought silver, Little Chi, we would have been utterly embarrassed today.”

“Before I became a cultivator, I was a mortal for twenty years,” Chi Qiu reminded him. “So, even though I know gold and silver are useless to me now, I still can’t help but collect some and keep them in my storage artifact. They don’t take up much space, after all.” She extended her hand and wiggled it before him, showing him the purplish-gold storage ring on her little finger.

“That trading market isn’t just a place for mortals to buy things, is it? You should check carefully,” Chi Qiu asked, pulling her hand back. She looked at the paper map clutched in Su Hanxing’s hand, a hint of unease in her tone.

“Certainly not. This trading market stretches for hundreds of li,” Su Hanxing confidently asserted. “What mortal could possibly traverse such a vast market?” He unfolded the map and handed it to Chi Qiu, then pointed to the trading market on it.

“Look here,” he continued, indicating a spot. “It says ‘Immortal’s Abode’ here, and this trading market is located within it. So, it must definitely be a place for cultivators to trade.”

“It’s not very close to here, so let’s set off now,” Chi Qiu said, glancing at the map before nodding softly. With that, the two began to make their way toward the trading market.