166 Journey to the Immortal Capital of the Golden Palace

The years of cultivation tend to be monotonous. Having lived in Langhai Plain for three to five years, Luo Yu always felt a sense of rootlessness regarding this place.

Living here was not bad at all. Their neighbors were on good terms with them without any unpleasant fallouts, and one could even describe their attitude as quite friendly. Occasionally, people would visit the island to forge friendships, and when passing by someone else's island, one might be invited in for a cup of tea and a chat.

However, from time to time, one could witness people fighting and seeking revenge here. When two parties faced each other in a life-or-death struggle, a group of close neighbors would simply stand nearby to watch the spectacle. Even if you had just parted ways with someone after having an agreeable conversation in their home, they would not offer you a helping hand. Once the fight concluded and these neighbors discovered you were still alive, well... they would simply continue chatting together next time. No one cared about such minor details.

In truth, these cultivators were not cowards. When someone brought trouble to their doorstep, the entire family would mobilize collectively to meet the enemy without asking neighbors for assistance. Victory was victory; defeat meant either fleeing, seeking an opportunity for revenge, dying a martyr, or kneeling to beg for mercy. When going to chaotic zones to fight, they would also charge to the forefront, as if racial hatred superseded personal grievances. Furthermore, bullying and killing lower-tier cultivators was considered perfectly natural among them, but should any other intelligent race bully a lower-tier cultivator, everyone would undoubtedly despise them with a burning hatred—much like the "Outlanders."

Luo Yu found it difficult to adapt to this bizarre mindset. He could not tell whether this was called a gentlemanly acquaintanceship, profound emotional indifference, or simply his own narrow-mindedness and inability to let go of things that prevented him from understanding their calm attitude.

Perhaps in the Eastern Divine Realm, "preserving oneself through wisdom" was suited for the continued survival and development of the "cultivator" race, aligning with the fundamental national conditions of this realm, and everyone had simply grown accustomed to it. Initially, Luo Yu would join the crowd to watch the excitement, but as he watched, he suddenly recalled the circumstances when the black dragon came seeking revenge. Wasn't he just like those onlookers back then? Indifferent, gossipy... mediation, persuasion, drawing a sword to help the distressed—he had never even entertained such thoughts!

Luo Yu reflected deeply, substituting himself into the scenario of "encountering Qingyao and Suheng" back then to analyze it. He concluded that even his present self would still be unable to stand idly by. Therefore, his character probably did not have any major flaws.

Then what on earth was wrong with him? Could he have been subtly influenced by the environment, silently conforming to the collective behavioral choices of the group?

Luo Yu felt rather awkward, akin to seeing a pickpocket steal someone's wallet on a bus; he failed to step forward and shout for the thief to be caught, yet afterwards, he complained about the apathy of human nature.

Having developed this mindset, Luo Yu completely lost interest in watching fights from the sidelines. Unable to voice condemnation or call for a change to this established "survival rule," he could only deceive himself like stealing a bell with his ears covered, pretending not to know. Yet, the sense of distance, weariness, and unease in his heart grew increasingly apparent. He was terrified that one day he, too, would become just like them, taking such circumstances for granted.

Although everyone had been living quite well over the past few years, Luoli's unavenged deep grudge always remained pressed upon his heart like a heavy stone.

That fellow Bai Wuhuo was no longer very attentive to grinding for experience. Having inherited Luoli's unfulfilled ambition, he frequently roamed about, working alongside Ghost Claw to study and improve information-gathering schemes, diligently building an intelligence network for the forces under his command. His cultivation realm remained stalled at the early stage of the Void Transformation realm, showing little progress since he first came to settle down in Yaolai Island.

The Luoli family witnessed Bai Wuhuo's dedication over the years and had long since truly regarded him as family. The estrangement born of a sense of responsibility vanished completely, and even his address changed from "Little Huo" to "Jiuer." This fellow played dual roles; every time he disguised himself as Luoli to humor Dad and Grandpa, the few family members who knew the truth felt an indescribable, dull ache in their hearts.

All sorts of ineffable and unspoken feelings lingered in his heart like wisps of smoke, until Luo Yu finally could no longer bear it and conceived the notion of going out to travel.

By this time, the young couple's cultivation had reached the mid-stage of the Void Transformation realm, nearing the late stage. This rate of advancement was not much different from the Nascent Soul realm, and it was estimated that they could advance to the Divine Integration realm in five or six years.

For cultivators in the terrestrial realm of cultivation, the higher the realm, the slower the cultivation speed became, entirely due to the scarcity of spiritual energy. Although the spiritual energy required after advancing to a higher realm was greater, the meridians would also be widened, and the absorption speed would accelerate significantly. As long as the spiritual energy could satisfy the maximum demand, the speed would actually be little different from before. The logic was akin to filling large and small bottles of water with identical shape proportions:

Spiritual energy in the terrestrial realm of cultivation was equivalent to a water tap releasing water; the small bottle filled up quickly, while the large bottle required a long wait.

On the mainland, however, it was equivalent to throwing the bottles directly into the sea to fill themselves. The difference between large and small bottles with wide openings was not very significant, with only a flow-distance time gap of "how long the water takes to reach the bottom of the bottle."

The act of infusing spiritual energy via external cheats employed by Luo Yu and his partner was equivalent to applying pressure to the water current, accelerating its flow rate to fill the large bottle faster.

The young couple dared not flaunt this heaven-defying speed, and outwardly they still appeared as two Nascent Soul cultivators.

This time, the young couple decided to go out for some fresh air and chose the premier city of the Eastern Divine Realm—the "Immortal Capital of the Golden Gate."

Nominally, the Immortal Capital of the Golden Gate was the capital city of the Eastern Divine Realm, yet there was only a city lord within its walls, not an emperor. From the very beginning, the Eastern Divine Realm had been a sheet of loose sand. People moved in successively to live together in a cluster, with local tyrants of various regions reigning supreme over their respective mountains, each minding their own business. Even the name "Eastern Divine Realm" was first coined by the Kala people.

Later, after everyone tacitly accepted that they constituted a country, no one stepped forward to unify and establish rules. The disparity in strength was not vast enough to suppress the others. If someone were a genuine Tribulation Immortal, that would be a different story, and even a Great Vehicle realm mighty figure could barely suffice. As for anyone else wishing to become the Immortal Emperor... they would be beaten by a mob until even their own mother wouldn't recognize them.

However, the surviving Great Vehicle realm beings on the mainland were all divine beasts. These divine descendants held their noses in the air, rarely showing their faces under normal circumstances, and simply disdained acting as Immortal Emperors for cultivators. Even if some human Great Vehicle realm expert was hiding in the deep mountains, they likely had zero interest in playing around with a group of lower-tier cultivators. Where wouldn't they be treated like honored masters? They could simply dispatch people to do whatever tasks needed to be done; who dared to disobey? To act as an Immortal Emperor and additionally bear the obligation of setting rules and upholding justice for everyone—that person must certainly be suffering from a severely idle brain.

Holding hands, the young couple walked down the grand avenue of the Immortal Capital of the Golden Gate. The city was extraordinarily wide; although it housed a multitude of people, it did not feel crowded in the least—not to mention the aerial routes acting as traffic diverters.

Qin Yue's raven hair atop his head was gathered into a high bun secured by a square, dark jade hair crown, with the remaining half cascading down behind him, reaching below his waist. He wore a dark, straight-hemmed deep robe, the collar and cuffs embroidered with a delicate border of crimson flame-like hidden patterns. Over this, he draped a wide-sleeved long cloak meticulously woven from spirit crane and black feather threads. A four-finger-wide dark leather belt with dragon patterns encircled his waist, and a pair of flat-soled black cloth boots graced his feet.

These boots were rather costly: flood dragon tendons formed the soles, while dragon scales covered the surface. The flood dragon tendons were purchased at a heavy price, and the dragon skin had fallen off Wulin's body back then, forming a piece just small enough to wrap the pair of boots. Although these items originated from Wulin, Qin Yue still liked them immensely. Of course, it would have been even more perfect if the shoe soles had been replaced with Wulin's tendons.

This attire could be considered casual, but paired with his incomparably handsome face that resembled cool jade, the overall vibe became entirely different, akin to an emperor traveling in plain clothes on a private tour. As the master of a palace accustomed to bossing others around, that aura could not be concealed even when he displayed a leisurely demeanor.

Luo Yu, who was tugging him around everywhere by the hand, wore an ivory-white hairpin-adorned clasp-shaped hair crown, gathering his hair into a long ponytail that mingled with the loose half falling down his back. The style of his clothing resembled the "Little White Chicken" from JX3: a stand-collar medium-width wide-sleeved loose jacket, paired with narrow long sleeves and bracers underneath; a gorgeous, wide gold-inlaid jade belt adorned his waist; the lower half featured an embroidered hemline reaching his calf along with baggy long trousers, with a jade-adorned knee-guard hanging in front, complemented by a pair of high-top white deer-leather boots patterned with silver phoenixes.

This outfit was the materialized obsession of Luo Yu's failure to fully evolve from a JX3 "Little Yellow Chicken" into a "White-Plucked Chicken." Damn it, since the 2D world failed to materialize, brother went straight for 3D!

From a certain perspective, he matched this short-cut outfit rather exquisitely. The charming, lively, and peerlessly beautiful youth, combined with that darting, inquisitive vitality, could brilliantly blind one's eyes the moment he was suddenly spotted. The aura of a proud, tsundere Tsangjian sect young master washed over one in waves, especially since he insisted on holding a silver-white folding fan in his hand.

The Immortal Capital of the Golden Gate was a city of indescribable magnificence, sprawling beyond the reach of the naked eye: a landscape of golden, shining glazed tiles and jade pillars of storied pavilions. The streets were incomparably broad, dotted with classical, symmetrical twelve-sided azure ponds down the center that resembled the Chinese character for "work" when viewed from above. The azure ponds were bordered by carved white jade railings, with spiritual lotus flowers and red carp inhabiting the waters. Both the front and rear walls of the azure ponds were carved with dragon heads, gently exhaling wisps of watery mist into the pools. The paving bricks of the streets were as clear and bright as layers of ice; through their smooth surfaces, one could see various classical patterns carved into the underside, with every single detail exhibiting unspeakable refinement. The middle of the road was also paved with superior agate bricks, making it look just like a red carpet.

These ancient people must have had too much time on their hands. Perfectly fine buildings had to be arranged in staggered heights, refusing to let people walk properly. The flanking multi-tiered building foundations rose step by step up jade stairs and grand terraces, looping around railings carved with auspicious patterns of all kinds: one only had to ascend to the outermost first terrace, and yet they would still need to continue climbing the jade stairs upon that terrace. Some of these jade stairs branched to the left, some to the right, and others branched to both sides simultaneously; some were zigzagged, some spiral, and others spanned the air as suspended bridges. At the corners of the terraces, various carved ornaments were generally placed: spiritual cranes, round pagodas, auspicious deer, celestial maidens—whatever looked pleasing was placed there, emphasizing an aura of grandeur and luxury, as if to say that unless a visitor walked until they felt deeply moved with emotion, it meant the host lacked prestige.

These buildings appeared to heavily defy architectural mechanics, with flying bridges resembling white rainbows interconnecting many of the tall structures. Towering spires piercing the clouds could be found everywhere, ranging from quadrangular to dodecagonal, encircled by rings of colorful light and layered formations. Immortals flew back and forth across the sky, each with fluttering long robes and dancing sashes, while large flying magic artifacts carried groups of people as they slowly drifted past. The sky was also devoid of a shortage of people fighting, chasing one another amidst flashing magical light, occasionally causing accidental injury to passing pedestrians.

However, within a hundred meters close to the ground, bidirectional defensive barriers existed. Fighting was strictly prohibited within the bounds of these barriers; otherwise, aside from being disciplined by the city guards, offenders might also be mobbed by passing crowds. To facilitate immortals taking off to duel at any moment, an octagonal altar nicknamed "Feixiao" (Soaring Clouds) was established every thousand zhang within the city, guarded by sentinels. Through these altars, one could leave the barrier, making it convenient whether one wanted to fight or return home. Yet, should one violate city regulations, one might find themselves unable to leave at all.