Seeking Dao City: A Fateful Encounter

Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing, wary of revealing their identities, did not fly directly to the Trading Market on their Voidbreaker Skiff. Instead, they chose to proceed on foot. After traveling several hundred li, the two arrived before a city gate.

This gate was considerably smaller than Hongshan City’s, spanning only a hundred zhang. It was also entirely crimson, and several gatekeepers, clad in red Daoist robes, stood beneath its arch. True qi emanated from these gatekeepers, radiating from their entire beings. Any cultivator who glanced at them could discern that they were all at the Heart Scripture Realm.

“This must be the Immortal Dwelling marked on the map,” Su Hanxing remarked, his gaze sweeping over the small, crimson gate before he lowered his head to compare it with their map. “Let’s go, Little Chi.” He confirmed it was indeed the Immortal Dwelling where the Trading Market was located.

As Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing approached the city gate, a cultivator in red Daoist robes extended a hand, politely halting their progress. “Fellow Daoists, please present your tokens.”

Su Hanxing grinned, producing his token and handing it over. “Please have a look, fellow Daoist.”

Chi Qiu, standing beside him, likewise presented the token she had received from the white-haired elder upon entering the city.

The gatekeeper accepted the tokens, examining them thoroughly. After confirming their authenticity, he returned them to Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing, then bowed respectfully, inviting them to enter.

After retrieving their tokens, the two casually stored them in their spatial artifacts. Su Hanxing then looked up at the gate, where a golden-red plaque hung. Three grand characters, written in a flourish, declared: “Qiudao City.”

Upon passing through the gate, a rich surge of spirit qi instantly enveloped them, invigorating both Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing.

“What an impressive feat,” Su Hanxing exclaimed, taking a deep breath, his face etched with surprise. “It seems there must be an enormous Spirit Gathering Array beneath this ordinary Daoist ground, continuously drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth.”

“Though the spirit qi here is abundant, it doesn’t seem as dense as what we experienced in the back room of our residence,” Chi Qiu murmured. She gently raised a hand, and a profound ripple emanated from her palm. The surrounding spirit qi seemed to respond to this wave, swiftly converging in her palm, quickly forming a pale red ball of spiritual energy.

“The residence we stayed in was built by the Daqi Imperial Family, so its Spirit Gathering Array is naturally of no low grade,” Su Hanxing explained. “Moreover, the larger a Spirit Gathering Array, the more difficult it is to set up and the more spiritual materials it consumes. They can’t truly be compared.”

He watched Chi Qiu effortlessly gather a ball of spirit qi with a mere wave of her hand, feeling a touch of envy. For her, this simple gesture was merely a natural alignment with the Grand Dao of Heaven and Earth. Yet, to Su Hanxing, it was nothing short of astonishing. He marveled internally, realizing that Little Chi’s comprehension of the Grand Dao seemed even more profound than before.

“So that’s how it is,” Chi Qiu nodded in understanding. “I remember, Hanxing, you can set up some array formations, can’t you? Could you arrange a small Spirit Gathering Array?” She nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly recalled how he had once deployed an illusion array within the Yinglong Tomb. With this memory, she turned to him, her curiosity piqued.

“I only studied array formations for a short period out of curiosity, but I gave it up soon after,” Su Hanxing replied, shaking his head. “Even the lowest-grade Spirit Gathering Array would be extremely difficult for me to construct.” He explained that studying array formations was an incredibly time-consuming discipline. Back then, just as he was starting to grasp some rudimentary principles, his master, Su He, had ordered him to stop, deeming it an unproductive endeavor.

“It seems setting up a Spirit Gathering Array is no easy feat,” Chi Qiu conceded, nodding. She refrained from asking any further questions about array formations.

Trading Market—

After passing through the city gate, Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing walked for another half an hour or so, finally reaching the location of the Trading Market as indicated on their map. A grand, jade-white gate stood prominently by the crimson road, instantly drawing the eye. On the pillars flanking the entrance, four gleaming golden characters were inlaid: “Trading Market.”

“Finally, a different color,” Chi Qiu murmured, her gaze fixed on the golden characters on the gate pillars. The subtle traces of the “Dao” etched within them sparked a flicker of interest in her heart.

Beside the pristine stone gate, a table and chair were set. A rather young-looking cultivator was sprawled listlessly on the table, muttering something under his breath. Su Hanxing took a few steps, approaching the young cultivator, and asked with a slight bow, “Fellow Daoist, are you the manager of this Trading Market?”

“Ah… Fellow Daoist, do you have any questions you wish to ask?” The young cultivator seemed not to have noticed Su Hanxing’s approach, startled when he spoke. He quickly sat upright, a smile appearing on his face as he inquired.

Su Hanxing chuckled inwardly, maintaining a calm expression as he repeated his earlier question. “Fellow Daoist, are you the manager of this Trading Market?”

“No, no, I am merely a guide,” the young cultivator hurriedly denied, waving his hand in a fluster. “Fellow Daoist, is this your first time visiting our Qiudao City’s Trading Market?”

“Indeed, it is our first time here,” Su Hanxing confirmed, gently tapping the table with his finger. “We wish to purchase a few items but are concerned we might not find the right shops, hence we came to ask for your guidance.”

“Then, fellow Daoist, you’ve certainly asked the right person!” The young cultivator’s expression shifted to one of realization. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he slapped his head and extended a hand towards Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing, requesting their tokens.

This fellow, he seems a bit unreliable, Chi Qiu mused inwardly. Nevertheless, she produced her token and handed it to the young cultivator.

“God Concealing stage cultivators, no problems here,” the young cultivator bottled softly, casually flipping through their tokens before returning them. “May I ask what you two fellow Daoists wish to purchase? I can guide you.”

“Oh, and by the way, my name is Xue Lin,” he added with a smile. “You two fellow Daoists can just call me by my name.”

Xue? Chi Qiu’s heart tightened. She knew that the City Lord of Hongshan City also bore the surname Xue. It was likely that this somewhat flighty young cultivator was a member of Hongshan City’s Xue family. Meeting a member of the Xue family so casually was not, in fact, surprising. After all, Xue Hongshan, the City Lord, was a cultivator at least in the Dharma Manifestation Realm, and his lifespan was naturally extremely long.

As a City Lord and a powerful cultivator, having multiple wives and concubines was nothing unusual. Consequently, his descendants were undoubtedly numerous. After tens of thousands of years of continuous procreation, the Xue clan within Hongshan City likely boasted at least tens of millions of members.

“Fellow Daoist Xue Lin, we wish to purchase some sect intelligence,” Su Hanxing stated, unaffected by the surname. He nodded slightly, revealing their objective. “Please trouble yourself to inform us.”

“No trouble at all, no trouble at all,” Xue Lin quickly responded, pointing westward. “The shop selling intelligence is about twenty li in this direction; its name is the Myriad Affairs Hall. Here’s a market map booklet; you two can use it to find the shops you desire.” He then produced a small booklet, handing it to Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing.

“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Xue,” Su Hanxing said, accepting the booklet. He casually flipped through a page, then nodded in satisfaction. Putting the booklet away, he bowed respectfully to Xue Lin before taking Chi Qiu’s hand and leading her into the Trading Market.