59: arrival

…

Over ten days later.

“This is the place!”

Lu Ming, who had walked out of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, stood on a low hill, looking at the night sky in all directions, wanting to let out a shout to vent his excitement.

After parting ways with Zhang Li and the others, he had trekked through mountains and rivers for another half a month, finally arriving near Heavenly Star Immortal City according to the map’s guidance!

The closer he got to the Immortal City, the more Sects and Families were established.

And on the mountains, rivers, and places where Spiritual Veins converged, Immortal Cultivation Markets were built one after another.

He crossed thousands of miles, encountering no less than ten Markets along the way. Although he braved the elements, he occasionally found some cities or Markets to rest.

However, it was already late, so he did not rush to the Immortal City. Instead, he planned to rest for a night and adjust his mental state and spiritual Qi.

He found a cave, swept it clean with a wave of spiritual Qi, swallowed a grain of Bigu Pill, and then began to meditate quietly to recover his state.

...

...

The next day

After a night’s rest, Lu Ming was full of vigor.

He piloted the Azure Spirit Boat, flew over a mountain, and then suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on the distance.

In front of him was a vast Immortal City, located at the end of the horizon, emitting brilliant rays of light!

Majestic city walls were built around a towering peak that pierced the clouds in the center, shrouded in a hazy sea of fog, making it hard to see clearly.

“Is this the Tier 3 Spiritual Vein — Tianxing Peak?”

Lu Ming looked at the mountain peak that soared into the clouds, recalling the scattered bits of information he had gathered, comparing them one by one with the environment of Heavenly Star Immortal City.

In front of the city walls, countless Cultivators came and went, some piloting Magical Artifacts, others riding Spirit Beasts, forming a bustling crowd at the city gate.

This was a city entirely composed of Cultivators!

Since he had already arrived, Lu Ming was no longer so impatient. He slowly piloted his Spirit Boat towards the Immortal City.

It looked close, but in reality, it was still dozens of miles away. Lu Ming began to observe his surroundings.

However, after only flying about a few miles, a group of Cultivators appeared before him, piloting a flying boat that was rapidly approaching him.

“The annoying flies are here again!”

Lu Ming’s eyes turned cold as he watched the aggressive group approach.

It was another group of rogue Cultivators; these pests of the Cultivation World were simply endless!

“Fellow Daoist…”

A leading Qi Refining Middle Stage Cultivator on the flying boat stepped forward.

“Die!”

Lu Ming did not let him finish his sentence.

A long halberd pierced through with a ferocious momentum.

Bang!

With a single halberd strike, the leading Cultivator didn’t even have time to react before his protective Magical Artifact shattered, and his head was pierced through. He was instantly dead beyond dead!

Lu Ming piloted the Azure Spirit Boat closer, leaped, and landed on the opponent’s flying boat.

“Pfft—”

He stepped forward and pulled out the long halberd, bringing out some red and white.

“Not good! The boss is killed!”

“Run!”

The rogue Cultivators, seeing the bad situation, immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

After instantly killing one person, Lu Ming didn’t delay. He activated the Blood Escape secret art, swung his long halberd horizontally, striking one with each blow.

By the time the battle ended, Lu Ming’s robes weren’t even stained with a drop of blood.

Looking at these corpses, Lu Ming felt that the two months of travel and the accumulated frustration in his heart had all been swept away.

“Body Cultivator combat is truly exhilarating!”

In these past ten-odd days, Lu Ming hadn’t just been traveling; he had been hunting Yao Beasts along the way.

This time, he didn’t devour the Yao Beast’s Qi and blood, but used it to Cultivate the <Savage Beast Art> to temper his physique.

Coupled with some resources in his Storage Pouch, and without fear of side effects, his Body Refining Realm advanced by leaps and bounds.

His Body Refining Realm had consequently reached the First Tier Middle Stage. Lu Ming estimated that he now had the strength of around the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

But dealing with this group of rogue Cultivators, none of whom were above the fourth layer of Qi Refining, was simply child’s play.

It was perfect that they were so blind as to try to rob him; they were most suitable for practice.

Looking at the long halberd Magical Artifact in his hand, Lu Ming shook his wrist, and the halberd hummed, shaking off the red and white matter on it.

“A long halberd is much easier to use than a sword!”

Lu Ming felt he had found the most suitable Magical Artifact for himself. This long halberd was found in the Storage Pouches of various rogue Cultivators.

After achieving Body Refining, Lu Ming felt this halberd was handy and took it for use, unexpectedly finding it very effective.

“It’s a pity this Magical Artifact is only a First Tier Medium Grade, a bit unsuitable for my current self.”

“But I can do Artifact Refining, so I can forge a long halberd myself!”

However, when Lu Ming thought about how all the Magical Artifacts he forged were filled with Devilish Qi, he couldn’t help but get a headache.

“A Devilish Halberd also seems quite good…”

After comforting himself, Lu Ming looked around.

Lu Ming, who had originally intended to burn them all, suddenly changed his mind.

There are many ways for people to live; why be confined to the coexistence of body and Soul?

Let these rogue Cultivators be put to good use even in death.

He picked out some relatively intact corpses, and the rest were fed to the Three Yin Nether Fire.

Finally, he packed up the Storage Pouches of several people along with their flying boat and took them away.

Lu Ming piloted the Azure Spirit Boat away from this place quickly, not delaying this time, heading straight for the Immortal City.

...

...

As he got closer and closer to the city walls of Heavenly Star Immortal City, Lu Ming felt that the Immortal City was even more magnificent and shocking than it appeared from afar.

He could even feel a heavy sense of oppression in the air washing over him.

Moreover, there was a subtle pressure falling upon him, gradually intensifying…

Seeing many people landing before approaching the Immortal City, Lu Ming followed suit.

He descended his escape light, put away the Azure Spirit Boat, transformed into a middle-aged man in a green Daoist robe, and walked towards the main gate of Heavenly Star Immortal City.

At this moment, Lu Ming suddenly saw a thick fog in front of him, but it didn’t seem to be set up against Cultivators, because he could sense a guidance within the fog.

“Soul-Confusing Restriction!”

With a flicker of spiritual light in his eyes, Lu Ming carefully examined the Formation surrounding the entire periphery of Heavenly Star Immortal City.

He was very familiar with this type of Formation Restriction, after all, he carried a Fog Formation Plate himself.

However, the two were incomparable; this layer of Soul-Confusing Restriction outside the Immortal City was much more powerful than his Formation Plate, and its coverage was extremely wide.

Once one recklessly entered it, they would surely become disoriented.

“This Soul-Confusing Restriction should only be to prevent Yao Beasts from approaching the Immortal City!”

He thought to himself, as it wouldn’t have much meaning if it were aimed at Cultivators.

Standing beneath the Immortal City, he looked up and saw that the city walls of the Immortal City were covered with various Dao patterns and numerous ferocious marks.

“Were these left by the beast tide from the Cloud Mist Mountain Range?”

According to the information he had gathered, it seemed that the Beast King deep within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, dissatisfied with the Cultivators’ endless plundering of Cloud Mist resources, had once launched a beast tide against Heavenly Star Immortal City.

“I suppose a situation like the Green Bamboo Market shouldn’t happen again, right…”