Yunque Heavenly Capital

On the day of their departure, the mountain gate of the Grand Primordium Sect was unusually lively.

Wen Shuxian was the first to step forward, handing over two waist ornaments. Each consisted of nine interconnected rings that were jet-black with a watery sheen. “These are the Nine-Linked Black Water Rings, refined from the shells of black water turtles. Once activated, they can block a full-strength blow from anyone below the Nascent Soul realm. Time was tight, so these will have to do for now.”

After saying that, he took a stack of talismans from his sleeve and stuffed them into her hands. “Ten Shadow-Slipping Talismans. If you run into danger, use them immediately. They can teleport you ten li away.”

Mu Tianqing handed over a silver-gray array disk. “This is the Kongming Formation. If you run into danger, activate the array disk, and you can conceal yourselves inside. Anyone below the Golden Core realm won't be able to detect your presence. If you can't win, hide first. Don't try to be heroes.”

Xue Mingzhao accepted it with both hands. This was practically a divine tool! If they encountered danger, they could just turn invisible and slip away.

Perched on Ji Yushu's arm was a Cloud-Gazing Finch. Its body was covered in soft, light-silver feathers, with faint green cloud patterns gracing the tips of its wings. Its tail feathers were fluffy and long, and its eyes were a clear, glassy gold.

It tilted its head, sweeping its gaze over Xue Mingzhao and Su Ye with blatant disdain before reluctantly slipping into the spirit beast bag.

Before disappearing inside, it let out a chirp at Ji Yushu, its meaning plain as day: “To bring these two rookies, you have to give me extra spirit fruits.”

Ji Yushu smiled and patted the bag. “The Cloud-Gazing Finch can fly a hundred zhang high, and nothing within fifty li can escape its eyes. The terrain inside the mystic realm is complex, so having it with you will save you a lot of detours.”

Su Mingyuan handed over two porcelain bottles. “Although your Martial Uncle Xu couldn't make it, he asked me to give you these Qi Gathering Pills and Blood Coagulation Pills. One bottle for each of you.”

Xue Mingzhao packed the items away one by one, her heart warming.

With this gear, conquering the Qingyu Mystic Realm would be a walk in the park.

With a bright smile, she stepped onto the spirit boat and waved to everyone. “Don't worry, Martial Uncles! I'll definitely show mercy to the mystic realm!”

Mu Tianqing's mouth twitched. Show mercy to the mystic realm? Did she think the Qingyu Mystic Realm was his spirit field?

The spirit boat slowly rose into the sky.

Out of the corner of her eye, Xue Mingzhao caught sight of a figure peeking in their direction from behind a distant boulder.

Before she could get a clear look at who it was, the figure vanished, leaving only a nearby tree branch swaying gently.

Xue Mingzhao curled her lips into a smile. Not bad. She hadn't expected them to actually come and see her off.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Su Mingyuan steered the spirit boat, carrying his two disciples as they pierced through the clouds and flew into the distance.

...

“Junior Sister, wake up. We're almost there.”

They had been flying for a full ten shichen. Xue Mingzhao had fallen into a deep sleep against the side of the spirit boat and only blearily opened her eyes after Su Ye nudged her several times.

Xue Mingzhao rubbed her eyes. “Huh? Have we reached the Yunque Heavenly Capital?”

When she finally saw the sight before her, her eyes instantly went wide.

Two towering ancient gateway towers stood on opposite sides of the sea of clouds. Jade pillars a thousand zhang tall supported ancient, multi-eaved towers, looking so majestic that they seemed to have stood there since the dawn of creation.

From the inner sides of the giant gates cascaded two ice-blue waterfalls like great rivers, their waters plunging into the clouds and mist to dissolve into a sky full of light smoke.

Behind the gates, an entire expanse of immortal palaces stretched across the horizon. Countless jade pavilions and magnificent towers were arranged along the mountains and clouds. The gilded roofs gleamed under the sunlight, merging into a dazzling sea of light that was almost too bright to look at.

Xue Mingzhao tilted her head back so far her neck nearly snapped.

Reading the words “Yunque Heavenly Capital” in a book was entirely different from seeing it with her own eyes.

Only by personally witnessing such a magnificent spectacle that towered over heaven and earth could one truly understand the boundless and infinite nature of the immortal sects.

This was a heavenly splendor that mortals might spend their entire lives gazing up at without ever catching a single glimpse.

And this was merely the cultivation world. What kind of sight would the true immortal realm be?

The Chaos Spiritual Root let out a cold tsk in her dantian. “And you still get offended when I call you a country bumpkin. You're already dumbstruck by just a couple of broken gates and buildings?”

Xue Mingzhao ignored it and quietly withdrew her gaze. Compared to this, the Grand Primordium Sect was practically a poverty-stricken mountain village.

Sensing her thoughts, the Chaos Spiritual Root said with disdain, “Even a dog doesn't look down on its own poor home.”

Xue Mingzhao retorted, “Oh, so by that logic, you're the dog looking down on its poor home?”

The Chaos Spiritual Root choked. It wanted to argue back, but since it had set up the premise itself, it had talked itself into a corner.

In the end, it chose to play dead, its outline fading slightly.

Xue Mingzhao nodded in satisfaction.

This transparent bead really couldn't go a single day without being put in its place.

The spirit boat slowly descended outside the city gates.

Su Mingyuan put away the spirit boat and led his two disciples into the city on foot.

The moment they entered the city, Xue Mingzhao's eyes couldn't take it all in.

Shops lined the streets, side by side.

Bright, glittering signs hung outside the elixir shops, while the artifact shops displayed spiritual swords and precious armor whose names she couldn't even begin to guess.

The windows of the talisman shops were plastered with colorful talisman samples, and even a young spirit beast tied up outside a pet shop wore a dark iron collar.

She looked around, letting out gasps of wonder from time to time, looking exactly like a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time.

Su Ye, on the other hand, showed no reaction, quietly following behind Su Mingyuan.

Seeing Xue Mingzhao's eyes shining with excitement, Su Mingyuan suddenly realized that she was still just a young girl after all.

Other female cultivators loved to go shopping, buy immortal hairpins and jewelry, or pick out a few sets of magical robes when they went out.

He shook his head with a smile, pulled out a pouch of spirit stones from his sleeve, and handed it over. “Here. Buy whatever you like. Don't be stingy.”

Xue Mingzhao was looking around with great interest when she turned to see her master holding out a pouch. Inside were grayish-white stones of various sizes, mixed with two or three milky-white ones, all looking rather dull.

Xue Mingzhao fished a dusty gray spirit stone out of the pouch and turned it over and over to examine it.

So this was a spirit stone. It was a far cry from the glittering, spiritually radiant treasures she had imagined. No matter how she looked at it, it just seemed like an ordinary rock.

The Chaos Spiritual Root spoke up coldly in her dantian. “Could it be because the quality of the one in your hand is too garbage? Low-grade spirit stones naturally have many impurities. Why don't you take a look at a high-grade one instead?”

Seeing his disciple marveling over a mere low-grade spirit stone, Su Mingyuan's old face flushed red with embarrassment.

Disciples of large sects received at least thousands, if not tens of thousands, of spirit stones a month as a baseline. Yet his own disciple had already cultivated to the seventh level of Qi Condensation and had never even seen what a spirit stone looked like before.

He cleared his throat, a hint of awkwardness in his tone. “These are spirit stones, the currency used in the cultivation world. The duller ones are low-grade spirit stones, and the milky-white ones are mid-grade. Buy whatever you want. If it's not enough, Master will find a way.”

Xue Mingzhao excitedly took the pouch of spirit stones and immediately ducked into a nearby talisman shop.

The shop wasn't very large, but the walls were covered with all kinds of talismans, creating a colorful collage that took up the entire wall.

Seeing the two of them stop, the shop assistant immediately welcomed them with a smile.