txolops Chapter 52 First Visit to Tianxing City
Chapter 52 First Visit to Tianxing City
Tianxing City, Star Palace Teleportation Hall.
As the light from the teleportation array faded, Han Xiaoliu, Long Kui, and Shen Gongbao, who was holding a baby, appeared in the huge circular hall.
The air was filled with a faint, salty sea breeze and a rich spiritual atmosphere. The walls were inlaid with glowing fluorite, illuminating the entire hall as bright as day.
"Cultivators visiting Tianxing City for the first time, please come here to obtain your residence permit!" A young cultivator shouted to the crowd who had just exited the teleportation array.
A short while later, the group emerged from the main hall exit wearing permanent residence rings.
Before they could even adjust to the oppressive atmosphere unique to the Chaotic Star Sea, a group of young men and women dressed in light blue short-sleeved shirts swarmed around them like fish attracted by a fishy smell.
Most of these children were only twelve or thirteen years old, and they wore "Hyacinth" badges around their necks. These were children specially recruited by the Star Palace to provide guidance services to visiting monks, and they were also the Star Palace's intelligence tentacles on the periphery.
"Senior, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time visiting Tianxing City? I'm Hyacinth Afu, and I know this city like the back of my hand!"
"Don't listen to him, senior! He has no sense of direction! Senior, choose me! I know which shop offers the best prices for monster materials!"
"Senior, I can also take you to the best restaurant..."
A group of children chattered excitedly, each trying to sell themselves.
Han Xiaoliu frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the chattering children before finally settling on the edge of the crowd.
There stood a girl, about eleven or twelve years old, with two pigtails, rosy cheeks, and a very cute appearance, like a plump peach.
She kept her lips tightly pursed, her eyes darting around, as if she wanted to go forward but didn't dare, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes so tightly they were almost dripping wet.
Han Xiaoliu pointed at her: "You're the one."
The girl looked up abruptly, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Xiaohe! What are you standing there for! Hurry up and go up!" A slightly older boy next to her stomped his feet anxiously and pushed her hard.
The girl stumbled and almost bumped into Han Xiaoliu, her face instantly turning bright red.
"I'm...I'm sorry, senior." Her voice was barely audible, and her head was bowed low. "I...I'm called Xiao He. I'm not very good at talking, but...I know Tianxing City very well. I won't say anything out of line, and I'll lead the way properly. The guests will definitely be satisfied."
"Brother?" Han Xiaoliu raised an eyebrow and looked at the boy who pushed her.
The young man quickly nodded and bowed, "Reporting to you, senior, I am her brother. This girl is just a bit tongue-tied and shy in front of people, but her memory is excellent. She knows the rules of every shop in town like the back of her hand. Choosing her is definitely the right decision!"
Han Xiaoliu looked the girl named Xiaohe up and down, his lips twitching slightly. He thought to himself: Xiaohe? This name is quite fitting. She is like a lotus bud just beginning to emerge, not yet fully grown.
"Alright, lead the way." Han Xiaoliu waved his hand.
"Yes! Senior, please follow me!" Xiaohe felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She took a deep breath and seemed to have become a different person in an instant. She turned around and led everyone out of the hall.
As soon as you step out of the teleportation hall, a cacophony of noise hits you.
The prosperity of Tianxing City far exceeded their expectations. The enormous ring-shaped city was built against the mountain, with streets layered upon each other, as intricate and complex as a maze.
Most peculiarly, a huge light curtain shrouds the center of the city, through which the surging sea and the occasional shadow of a giant monster can be vaguely seen in the distance.
"Senior, this is the outer ring of Tianxing City, mostly inhabited by mortal merchants and low-level cultivators." Xiaohe walked ahead, not daring to look back at Han Xiaoliu, but she introduced the terrain clearly and logically. "The street on the left is the 'General Goods Street,' where you can find all sorts of odds and ends. The one on the right is the 'Spiritual Materials Market,' but the shopkeepers there are quite snobbish; if you don't have a Star Palace residency ring, the prices are usually 30% higher."
She paused, lowered her voice, and said mysteriously, "I heard that things are a bit turbulent out off the coast lately, so the city is cracking down hard. If you're buying or selling anything, it's best to go to a branch of 'Wanbaolou.' It's a bit more expensive there, but they're honest and fair to everyone, and... moreover, they've recently received a lot of news about thousand-year-old spiritual herbs. Apparently, some important figure is going into seclusion to form their Nascent Soul."
Han Xiaoliu and Shen Gongbao exchanged a glance but neither spoke. They silently memorized the place names and gossip that Xiaohe had mentioned.
Longkui looked around with a curious expression, but her gaze kept drifting to the swaddled baby in Shen Gongbao's arms.
"Eunuch Shen, is she asleep?"
"Eunuch Shen, wrap yourself up tighter, the sea breeze is cool."
Along the way, Longkui asked no less than ten times. Shen Gongbao's usually gloomy face had to be tense at this moment as he carefully protected the "little ancestor" in his arms.
Arriving at a secluded area called "Qingyun Alley," which is close to the inner ring road, the spiritual energy here is noticeably richer than that of the outer ring road.
"Senior, the area for renting cave dwellings is just ahead." Xiaohe pointed to a stone gate carved into the mountainside and said, "The cave dwellings here all come with simple spirit-gathering arrays, and most of them draw in mountain spring water."
As they were talking, the baby in his arms suddenly cried out "waaaaa!" The loud cry made Shen Gongbao's eardrums buzz.
"Oh dear! Why are you crying?" Longkui panicked immediately. Forgetting they were still on the street, she rushed over to lift the swaddling clothes. "Quick, take a look!"
"Don't move! Don't move!" Shen Gongbao frantically protected the child, a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead. "Are you feeling unwell?"
The passing cultivators all turned their heads to look, some with expressions of anticipation.
"Wah—wah—" The baby cried even louder, his little face turning bright red.
"Did he pee?" Longkui asked anxiously. "Quick, check!"
Shen Gongbao gritted his teeth, disregarding his appearance, and carried the child to a large rock by the roadside. He skillfully unwrapped the baby, and a foul odor immediately wafted out.
"It really did pee!" Shen Gongbao said with a dark face, taking out a spare dry diaper from his storage bag.
Longkui stood anxiously by her side, her hands clasped together: "Hurry, hurry, don't get cold."
Shen Gongbao quickly changed the diaper, then took out an exquisite porcelain bottle from his pocket, uncorked it, and a rich milky aroma instantly wafted out. He brought the bottle to the baby's mouth and gently coaxed, "Good boy, good boy, don't... cry, drink your milk."
The baby stopped crying immediately upon smelling the milk and began to suckle vigorously.
Shen Gongbao breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and wrapped the child up again. Long Kui finally relaxed, looking at Shen Gongbao with admiration: "Grandpa Shen, you're amazing!"
Shen Gongbao snorted coldly and didn't reply, but thought to himself: This is much more tiring than cultivation.
After calming the child down, the group continued on their way.
Xiaohe led them to a cave numbered "66".
"Senior, although this cave dwelling is numbered later, its location is excellent," Xiaohe said, pointing to the restrictions on the stone door. "It's backed by the remnants of a sacred mountain, so the spiritual energy here is much richer than in ordinary cave dwellings. Moreover..."
She pushed open the stone door and saw a bright and spacious interior. A man-made waterfall cascaded down from the top of the cave and flowed into a clear pool below.
With the gentle murmur of water and the ethereal atmosphere, it is a rare and tranquil place for spiritual cultivation.
"The previous owner of this cave was a weapon refiner who went to the outer sea to hunt demonic beasts and never returned. When the lease expired, the Star Palace took it back and re-rented it out," Xiao He explained. "The price is cheaper than the cave next door, number '68,' because although the number next door is earlier, the spiritual energy there is somewhat mixed."
Han Xiaoliu entered the cave, scanned it with his divine sense, and nodded in satisfaction.
The layout of this cave is quite similar to the one Han Li rented in the original novel, except that it has a lower number, is more secluded, and has its own pool and waterfall, which are more conducive to the formation of formations and to concealing the situation inside the cave.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Han Xiaoliu took out a spirit stone and handed it to Xiaohe. "This is a reward for you."
Xiaohe accepted the spirit stone, her eyes wide with surprise. She hadn't expected this seemingly aloof senior to be so generous. She immediately knelt and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, senior! Thank you, senior!"
Shen Gongbao stood by the pool, holding the child, watching the waterfall cascading down and listening to the sound of the water. The baby in his arms seemed to like the sound as well, and fell into a deep sleep again.
"Tianxing City..." Han Xiaoliu murmured softly, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, "Tianxing City, I'm here."
Inside the cave, Han Xiaoliu waved his sleeve, and a white light flashed, and Bubble's round figure appeared out of thin air in the center of the cave hall.
"We've arrived?" As soon as Bubble landed and before it could even stand firmly, two streaks of light flew out from Han Li's hand and hovered precisely in front of it.
There were two sets of array flags, one set shimmering with a mesmerizing iridescent light, and the other set exuding a profound aura of the five elements.
"Go, activate the array plates and array flags." Han Li's voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable authority. "Use the 'Illusionary Array' to conceal your aura on the outer perimeter, and reinforce the defense with the 'Inverted Five Elements Array' on the inner layer. Remember, I want this cave to be so secure that not even a fly can get in."
"Received!" Although Bubble was just a spirit beast, it was full of intelligence. It immediately used its short forelimbs to hug the two sets of array flags and jumped into the depths of the cave like a bouncy ball.
A moment later, a slight fluctuation of spiritual energy spread throughout the entire cave.
At the entrance to the cave, the light and shadow distorted, and the original stone gate seemed to have disappeared into thin air, leaving only a void of rock walls.
Inside the cave, layers of five-colored light curtains firmly locked in the abundant spiritual energy, preventing any outside prying eyes from prying in.
As the formation took shape, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around it converged into the formation at a visible speed, and Han Li waved his hand again.
As the light faded, Zhu Zhan and Yu Niangzi appeared in the hall.
Han Li looked around, his gaze finally settling on the pool with its own waterfall. He calmly instructed, "This will be where we live from now on."
He pointed to Bubble, who was waiting in a corner of the hall, and said to his assistant, "You and the summoning spirit are in charge of Bubble. You are responsible for patrolling the perimeter of the cave on weekdays. If there is any unusual activity, alert them immediately."
Then, he turned to Lady Yu, his gaze softening slightly: "Lady Yu, you will continue to be in charge of daily life, especially taking care of the children."
Lady Yu bowed slightly and replied gently, "Young master, rest assured, I will take good care of them."
With the arrangements made, Han Li said no more.
He took one last look at the baby in the swaddling clothes, then turned and walked towards the quiet room deep inside the cave, where the spiritual energy was most abundant.
The stone door slowly closed, isolating it from all outside sounds.
"Next, I'm going into seclusion!"