The next day, Li Mu set up a Dragon Image Concealment Formation for Xiao Liang Mountain, then rode his Flying Sword and flew towards Gangyang City.
The journey was two to three hundred li, and Li Mu was unfamiliar with the area, so he was afraid of flying in the wrong direction. He flew and stopped along the way, and whenever he encountered Cultivators, he would ask them from afar to confirm his direction.
After an hour and a half, the outline of a giant city built on the mountainside gradually became clear.
He had arrived!
Seeing the giant city on the mountaintop, Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Along the way, he had encountered Cultivators and also more than a dozen Yao Beasts. The most dangerous moment was encountering a wave of demonic birds, first-order Fiery Flame Birds.
Fortunately, Li Mu kept his Divine Sense fully open throughout the journey, covering a one-li diameter range, allowing him to detect them in advance and avoid them.
As Li Mu flew closer, the appearance of Gangyang City came into full view.
Gangyang City has an inner and outer city. The inner city is built around the half-mountainside of an isolated peak, while the outer city walls are built by connecting five surrounding low peaks. The city walls, dozens of feet high, stand among the mountains, and eight aerial stone bridges connect the inner and outer cities. The city's construction style is magnificent, grand, and very spectacular.
Such a city could never be built in his original modern world.
Spirit Boats and Cultivators riding Flying Swords took off and landed in designated areas near the city walls.
The inner city of Gangyang City has an anti-flight Formation, making it impossible to fly directly in. Seeing this, Li Mu descended on his Flying Sword and landed at the Flying Sword pier at the city gate.
Not far from the city gate, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, accompanied by eight Late Stage Qi Refining guards, stood guard, monitoring every Cultivator entering and exiting the city. A detection Spiritual Mirror above the city wall functioned in real-time, preventing the entry of demonic Cultivators, devil Cultivators, and evil beings.
Seeing this, Li Mu couldn't help but sigh, realizing that living in a large city indeed provided much better safety and security.
It wasn't like Qing'an Town, which was so dangerous that if a few second-order Yao Beasts jointly attacked, they could potentially wipe it off the map.
"Newcomer? The entrance fee is five lower spirit stones! No Flying Swords allowed inside the city!" Just as Li Mu was about to enter the city, a gate guard blocked his path and gestured with his hand.
Li Mu took out five lower spirit stones to pay the entrance fee and received an iron token from the guard. The guard informed him that the token was valid for fifteen days. After fifteen days, if he wished to remain in Gangyang City, he would need to pay more Spirit Stones. If he wanted to leave Gangyang City, he would have to return the token.
Oh, alright!
Staying in Gangyang City meant paying three lower spirit stones daily, and that didn't even include rent!
Living in a big city was not easy!
However, upon entering the city, a rich Spiritual Qi assailed him, and Li Mu immediately understood why the entrance fee was so expensive.
Gangyang City must have a High Grade Spiritual Vein within it; the Spiritual Qi overflowing from it was already three to four times that of the outside. The cultivation speed in this city was three to four times faster than outside, so one could imagine how high the Spiritual Qi concentration in the inner city would be.
The seventy to eighty-foot wide city walls served as the city's main street, lined with various shops: Spirit Beast shops, Medicinal Pill shops, Rune shops, Spiritual Artifact shops, Puppet shops, Spirit Medicine shops, Spiritual Plant shops, tailor shops… a complete variety.
"High Grade Spiritual Swords refined by Great Master Ouye! Also, first-order High Grade Spiritual Swords, starting from only 70 lower spirit stones! Don't miss out, passing by!
"Seventy-year-old Fiery Yang Flower, hundred-year-old Ink Spirit Ginseng! Don't miss out, passing by!
"High Grade Qi Gathering Pill, only 30 lower spirit stones per pill!
"Golden Ape cub, second-order Yao Beast potential! Come and see!
...
The various calls from shops along the street, bargaining sounds, and hawking cries merged together, and pedestrians came and went, making it very lively.
Li Mu looked around, his eyes like a radar, sweeping over each shop and every Spiritual Object stall, fearing he might miss an opportunity to discover a Treasure Trove.
【Fifty-year-old Rejuvenating Spiritual Plant】
【Sick Golden Ape cub】
【Thunder Stone with weak thunder power】
...
Soon, Li Mu stopped, his attention drawn by the Spiritual Plant seeds in a Spiritual Plant shop.
"Store Owner, how much are these second-order Spirit Tooth Rice Spirit Seeds? How long do they take to mature?" Li Mu entered the Spiritual Plant shop and asked the Store Owner.
"Second-order Spirit Tooth Rice matures in two years and requires a Medium Grade Spiritual Field for cultivation. If cultivated in a Superior Spiritual Field, the time can be shortened by about half a year. Ten Medium Grade Spirit Stones per mu of Spirit Seeds," the Spiritual Plant shop Store Owner introduced.
"Uh! Can I buy a small portion to try cultivating first? Also, second-order Ink Sun Grass, Blood Ginseng, Spirit Illusion Grass… For these second-order Spiritual Plant seeds, can I get ten to twenty seeds of each? Also, I'd like some first-order Spirit Seeds too." Li Mu pointed out a pile of second-order Spiritual Plants on the spot, asking about seeds that had no special environmental requirements and didn't need too much meticulous care.
"You want to try cultivating them! How about one Medium Grade Spirit Stone for a bit of each?" The Spiritual Plant shop Store Owner frowned and gestured.
"Yes, that works, thank you, Store Owner!" Li Mu was overjoyed and happily agreed.
Soon, Li Mu paid thirteen Medium Grade Spirit Stones and left the Spiritual Plant shop happily with thirteen types of second-order Spiritual Plant seeds and seven types of first-order Spiritual Plant seeds.
It was a pity that this Spiritual Plant shop did not have third-order Spiritual Plant seeds; otherwise, Li Mu would definitely have been willing to pay Spirit Stones for them.
Li Mu discovered that third-order Spiritual Plant seeds were not sold on a large scale by the Sect or other Spiritual Plant shops; the channels for acquiring them required other methods.
After browsing the Spiritual Plant shop, Li Mu visited several Spiritual Material shops, but his gains were meager.
Presumably, there were many High Grade Cultivators in Gangyang City who knew how to identify Spiritual Objects, and even those Spiritual Objects whose spiritual essence was not obvious could be discovered and marked with high prices, making it much harder to find bargains.
Li Mu found an inn called Wangyun Pavilion, staying for two days. He mingled in the inn's dining hall, listening to the casual conversations of the dining Cultivators, and indirectly learning about the situation in Gangyang City.
"Have you heard? The Zhou Family's hunting team lost many people trying to take down that third-order Bloodthirsty Wolf King on Pearl Peak!"
"What was the result? Did they take down the Bloodthirsty Wolf King?"
"Of course they did! The one leading the team was Zhou Tianhao, a potential Golden Core!"
...
"Do you know about a new piece of news regarding the Five Great Sects?"
"Are you referring to the Five Sects' joint exploration? What's the new news?"
"Yes! It seems the Five Sects had a falling out. I don't know if it's due to uneven profit distribution or other issues, but Qingxuan Sect is withdrawing from this joint exploration."
"No way! Where did you hear this news? The Five Sects' exploration into the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range was at the behest of the Immortal Sect above—the Grand Profound Immortal Sect. How dare Qingxuan Sect disobey?"
"It seems a Nascent Soul True Lord from Qingxuan Sect died at the hands of a Corpse Refinement Sect Elder, causing damage to their top combat strength, so they're unwilling to participate in the exploration!"
"Fake, it must be fake news! Qingxuan Sect has more than a dozen Nascent Soul True Lords! Above them, there's also a Soul Transformation Old Ancestor. How could they abandon this Five Sects' joint exploration for the death of a mere Nascent Soul True Lord…"
...
"Qingxuan Sect really suffered a loss this time! Nascent Soul True Lord Qingxu Zi has fallen!"
"Really? Will it affect Gangyang City?"
"It won't affect it much. Gangyang City is a hundred and eighty thousand li away from Qingxuan Sect Headquarters; it's far!"
...
"The Wang Family, the Lin Family, and five Foundation Establishment Families are making a big fuss this time! For the distribution of a Spirit Vein, they're even preparing to set up a fighting platform!"
"Qingxuan Sect is suppressing them from above; they can't cause much trouble!"
"I wonder how big this Spirit Vein is this time. Maybe another small town will be built!"
"That's possible. We absolutely cannot miss this opportunity!"
...
The patrons dining in the inn, in twos and threes, enthusiastically discussed various popular events happening in Gangyang City, chatting about gossip revolving around the death of Qingxuan Sect's Nascent Soul True Lord, the Five Sects' joint exploration, the discovery of a new Spirit Vein, and the matter of several Foundation Establishment Families setting up a fighting platform.
Li Mu eavesdropped for a while, then found it uninteresting; these matters were too far removed from him, a Utility Disciple.
After finishing the Spiritual Cuisine on his table, Li Mu settled his bill with the Store Owner, then left the inn and walked towards Qingxuan Sect's Outer Sect branch headquarters in Gangyang City, preparing to sign up for the Outer Sect Disciple assessment.