On the afternoon of the tenth day, Zhang Ling completed his patrol mission and returned to the task handover point with ten Qi Refining disciples.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator who took over from him was a rogue cultivator surnamed Chen. After a brief handover, Zhang Ling returned to his cave.
Each month, Foundation Establishment cultivators only needed to complete the ten-day patrol mission, and the remaining time was theirs to freely allocate.
Upon arriving at his cave, he first slept for several hours to fully restore his condition before heading to the main hall of the cave.
With a tap of his storage bag, he released the giant snake demon beast. He had previously noticed that this beast possessed an aura different from ordinary demon beasts.
Now, after careful observation, he discovered some tiny, dark purple lines/patterns on both sides of the giant snake's head.
At first glance, they resembled patterns on the demon beast's body, but upon sensing with his divine sense, he felt a trace of manic/violent spiritual power emanating from these patterns.
Then, he raised his hand and took out the jade slip recording the characteristics of the Otherworldly Demons, and the patterns on this demon beast were somewhat similar to those of these Otherworldly Demons.
Could it be a demon beast corrupted by demonic energy? Zhang Ling couldn't help but wonder. Then, he began to process the corpse of the giant snake demon beast.
This demon beast was quite powerful, and its snake skin was an excellent material. He specifically tested it and found that the snake scales had a defensive power comparable to ordinary high-grade defensive magical artifacts. If used for refining treasures, it would be enough to refine two or three high-grade magical artifacts.
However, he didn't know how to refine treasures, so he could only store these materials for now and deal with them when he had time later.
In the following days, he focused on meditating and cultivating peacefully in his cave.
...
"So, Junior Brother Zhang has finally arrived. Senior Brother Wang and I have been waiting for quite some time," Wu Minghan jokingly said as he saw him in Wang Fujun's cave at Haoyuan Sect.
"My apologies for the wait, Senior Brothers," Zhang Ling cupped his fist in apology to the two.
"Haha, Junior Brother Zhang's presence suggests he's willing to join us on this trip," Wang Fujun gestured for him to sit down and asked.
"I've long admired Yanhai Immortal City, and I'm naturally delighted to travel with you two, Senior Brothers."
"Good," Wang Fujun said, overjoyed at his agreement.
"I previously invited Senior Brother Hao Ming and Junior Sister Tian Jing, but unfortunately, they have patrol duties these days. But having the two of you accompany us will provide some mutual support on the road."
"Senior Brother is right. We are so close to the Black Cloud Desert. We must be careful," Wu Minghan echoed from the side.
The three chatted amiably for a while before rising to bid farewell and arranging to depart for Yanhai Immortal City the next day.
The next day, the three flew away from Red Rock Mountain on their magical artifacts, heading north. Three hours later, they gazed at the horizon and saw a giant city in the distance.
This city was entirely gray and white, over a thousand zhang in length and width, and more than a hundred zhang in height. It was backed by a giant mountain that pierced the clouds. To the west was a vast, seemingly endless plain.
The main structure of this city was completely different from the cities he had seen before. It was not built on flat ground, but rather spiraled around a towering mountain, built in circles on the mountainside.
At the base of the giant mountain, layers upon layers of various buildings formed a ring-shaped complex, connecting the mountain bodies on the left and right, with almost no gaps.
From a distance, it looked like a giant white jade city.
As they approached the giant city, they could see the city walls covered with dense runes restrictions, with faint spiritual light flashing. On top of the city walls, there was a cultivator guard stationed every ten zhang or so.
Among these patrolling guards, there were quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators.
" Yanhai Immortal City!"
Zhang Ling recalled information about the city, but seeing this Immortal City in person still filled him with shock. Wu Minghan and Wang Fujun beside him wore similar expressions.
The group landed in mid-air several miles away from the Immortal City, as there were flying restrictions here. There were also some cultivators flying in from other directions who had landed on the ground like them.
Following the pedestrians, they walked towards Yanhai Immortal City. All those entering the city were cultivators; there was not a single mortal. Under the city walls were three city gates, one large and two small.
The large city gate was entirely cyan-black, over twenty zhang high, with flowing light, obviously blessed with restrictions. This city gate was tightly closed and not open.
Only the small city gates on the left and right were open.
A long queue lined up in front of the right city gate, all of them Qi Refining cultivators. There were only a dozen or so people at the left city gate, but each of them had Foundation Establishment cultivation.
The three knew what was going on at a glance and walked towards the left city gate without hesitation.
Zhang Ling sensed slightly that the cultivators queuing ahead, although few in number, included six at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and a female cultivator veiled in black gauze actually had late-Foundation Establishment cultivation.
The queue moved quickly, and soon it was the trio's turn.
"Do the three seniors have any items to prove their identity? According to the city's regulations, all cultivators can reside in this city for a long time, but with the Otherworldly Demons invading, cultivators without proof of identity cannot enter or leave the Immortal City!"
A young male cultivator in black armor sized up the three of them and spoke calmly.
This person only had the tenth level of Qi Refining, yet he faced them, these Foundation Establishment cultivators, without the slightest fear.
"Identity token!"
Wang Fujun frowned upon hearing this, but he still waved his hand and produced a red token from his waist, tossing it to the youth.
The black-armored youth received the token, and a flash of spiritual light appeared in his hand as he cast a spell on the token. Immediately, spiritual light flashed on it. Then, the youth looked at Wang Fujun a few more times before revealing a smile and respectfully returning the token with both hands.
"So you are a senior guarding the Demon Sealing Stone, I am sorry for my impoliteness. Welcome to Yanhai Immortal City. According to the Immortal City's rules, cultivators who protect the formation formation eye do not need to pay the city entry fee. Senior, please."
Then, the youth faced Zhang Ling and the others with the same official manner, using the same method to check their tokens before letting them pass.
Zhang Ling didn't care much about this. He only observed that this person's method of verifying their identities was special, directly mobilizing the aura stored within the token and matching it with their own aura.
A cultivator can easily change their appearance, but their own aura is difficult to change. This can be considered a clever method.
Passing through the dozen-zhang-long gate opening, they entered the interior of the Immortal City, and three huge black stone tablets appeared before them.
" Merit Tablet"
The stone tablets were built entirely of a black jade stone. They were densely covered with golden characters, each of which was a name.
Zhang Ling had previously learned about the function of these Merit Tablet from his Qi Refining subordinates.
The names on them were all of the famous cultivators of this period, including rogue cultivators, family disciples, and sect cultivators.
Those who could have their names left on the Merit Tablet were all experts who had slain Otherworldly Demons. From the information he had, each Immortal City had twelve Merit Tablet.
"Han Liffei of Golden Phoenix Gate, late-Foundation Establishment, killed fourteen Otherworldly Demons."
"Lin Dan, late-Foundation Establishment, killed nine Otherworldly Demons."
...
