In the afternoon of the third day, a towering cityscape appeared on the horizon. From a distance, most of the buildings in the city were a mix of stone and wood, with outer walls uniformly painted in light colors that shimmered with a soft luster under the afternoon sun.
The city walls lacked crenelations for ballistae or catapults; instead, they featured a row of exquisitely carved stone reliefs depicting various mythological stories. Above the central gatehouse was a massive stone plaque, neatly engraved in the Common Tongue with several large characters—City of Divine Grace.
Li Yuan changed his attire in a small grove outside the city. He tucked his cyan robe into his storage space and replaced it with a plain, dark brown robe. The material was of decent quality but not particularly eye-catching.
He took out several packets of tea leaves, wrapped them in cloth, and hung a palm-sized pouch at his waist containing some loose gold and silver coins. The identity of a traveling merchant was the most suitable; this outfit would allow him to pass through most city-states without hindrance, being neither conspicuous nor inconvenient for moving around.
After suppressing his aura until it was indistinguishable from an ordinary person's, he stepped toward the city gate.
Two guards in silver light armor stood on either side. When they saw Li Yuan, they only gave him a routine glance. Seeing he was an outside merchant, one of them asked a few simple questions.
Li Yuan identified himself as a tea merchant from the capital of Kajinson, claiming he was passing through to check the local market conditions. The guards didn't press for more details; they registered his name and let him through.
As he passed through the gateway, the sensation of his Divine Sense being blocked suddenly intensified for a moment, but it vanished completely immediately after. The entire city was laid bare to his Divine Sense—every building, every street, and every pedestrian was crystal clear.
The scene inside the city was vastly different from the villages he had passed over the last few days. The wide main street was paved with neat stone slabs, lined with two-to-three-story stone and wood buildings with shops on the ground floor.
The flow of pedestrians wasn't crowded, but it wasn't sparse either, and... they were alive—all of them were living people. Their bodies were intact and full of vitality. Li Yuan confirmed this several times with his Divine Sense, and each time the conclusion was the same—the people in this city were all normal.
He spent over an hour taking a rough tour of the entire city. The three plazas each had their own characteristics, and the city was fully equipped with shops, workshops, residential areas, and merchant guilds and academies. The sanitation was also well-maintained. The only thing he found slightly unusual was the excessive number of temples in the city.
There were three temples along the main street alone, and several smaller ones tucked away in the alleys. Without exception, they were all dedicated to the God of Light.
He sat on a plaza bench for a while, watching the believers and priests entering and exiting the temple. He formed a general judgment in his mind. The management of this city was completely different from the kingdom; the authority of the temple permeated almost every aspect of the city's operation. In other words, this was not a city governed by a secular regime, but a theocratic city-state centered on the God of Light.
This conclusion was confirmed that evening.
After finding a decent-looking hotel to stay in near Lightseeker Avenue, he asked the hotel owner for a local guide. The owner enthusiastically introduced him to a local.
Early the next morning, a middle-aged man in his early forties appeared at the hotel entrance. He had short brown hair, wore a deep blue robe, and had a thin silver bracelet on his wrist. He introduced himself as Alan Cole, a local merchant who worked as a guide in his spare time to supplement his income.
Li Yuan chatted with him for a bit. Learning that Alan's business primarily dealt with spices and cloth, Li Yuan followed up by saying he was a tea merchant from Kajinson who wanted to learn more about the city.
Alan was very talkative. He led Li Yuan around while explaining things, starting from his own storefront and passing various shops. They visited two plazas as Alan described the city's origins and structure.
“The full name of this city is Edlantis, though most people call it the City of Divine Grace,” Alan said, pointing toward the main temple. “Legend says that hundreds of years ago, the first people to arrive here were a group of refugees fleeing war. Just as they were about to perish in the wilderness, they received the grace of the God of Light and were guided to this spot. They built the earliest settlement here and erected the first temple. That’s why there has never been a city lord here; from day one, the temple has been the lord.”
“Nominally, the City of Divine Grace belongs to the Casnoe Empire. But in reality, the empire's decrees never apply here. Taxes and laws are all set by the temple, and the city defense is handled by the temple's guards. The empire has sent people a few times to try and take over, but they were politely turned away every time. To put it simply, it’s a nation within a nation.”
“Is the temple strict with its management?” Li Yuan asked curiously.
“That depends on the situation. The taxes are a bit heavy; besides the normal taxes, there are separate blessing donations and incense money. Merchants have to pay an additional thirty percent commercial tax. But the security they provide is truly excellent. I’ve lived in several large cities in the empire where theft and robbery were common. But here, you can rest easy. The temple guards patrol heavily, and those who cause trouble rarely escape.”
As they spoke, they arrived at the main plaza. The flow of people in front of the temple was denser than what Li Yuan had seen earlier. Li Yuan gazed at the several towering stone pillars, paused for a moment, and then turned to ask.
“Does the God of Light himself... ever manifest in this city?”
Alan thought for a moment before replying cautiously, “According to the teachings, the divine oracles of the God of Light are everywhere. But as for whether the god's physical form appears, I haven't seen it in all my years in the City of Divine Grace. However, the temple holds a grand festival every year. During that time, the High Priest personally ascends the high platform of the main temple to deliver a proclamation. That scene is even more lively than a coronation in the empire. If you aren't busy, you should stay for a few more days to see it. It just so happens that the festival is in a few days.”
Li Yuan silently noted this information without further questioning. The two continued to tour the artisans' district in the east and the market in the west, having lunch at a market stall at noon.
After two mugs of ale, Alan's talkativeness was in full swing, covering everything from the High Priest's fashion sense to scandals involving the imperial emperor. Li Yuan listened, occasionally responding to keep the conversation on the temple's jurisdiction while keeping an eye on his surroundings.
By evening, Alan saw him back to the hotel entrance and took his leave. The errand and guide fees totaled five gold coins, which was significantly higher than the local rate. Alan happily accepted the money, saying Li Yuan could find him anytime if he needed anything else.
After returning to his room, Li Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and began to process everything he had seen and heard throughout the day.
He hadn't detected any aura of evil cultivators, nor had he found any suspicious mana residue. He had specifically stood in front of the temple for a while that afternoon to scan the interior with his Divine Sense. The mana fluctuations of the priests were generally between Rank 3 and Rank 5. The High Priest wasn't in the temple, but even if he were, there was a high probability he wouldn't exceed Rank 7.
Such a lineup was reasonable for a theocratic city, but it was also a bit strange for an existence capable of blocking his Divine Sense... especially since they seemed to have "skipped" this city.
Either the evil cultivator had already left, or the opponent was hiding so well that they had intentionally left some false clues to keep him from making a move.
If it was the former, this trip would be a bit of a hassle as he’d have to keep searching. But if it was the latter, things were even more troublesome—not because the evil cultivator was particularly strong, but because such people were far too good at hiding.
Back on the Kyushu Continent, in his early years after reaching the Tribulation Transcendence stage, he and a few old fellows from the Daoist sects had raided the lair of a certain great evil cultivator. To evade them, that fellow had dived into the eternal glaciers of the northern ice fields for decades, sealing himself deep within the profound ice to merge with the glacier, making him undetectable even to Divine Sense.
If that evil cultivator hadn't been forced to come out every few decades to feast on the essence of living beings, he probably could have stayed shrunk inside the ice for centuries or even longer.
Thinking of this, Li Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. When it came to a direct confrontation, few evil cultivators could withstand two slaps from him, but their ability to hide was each more impressive than the last. If there were a worldwide hide-and-seek competition, they would likely sweep the top three spots.
However, he wasn't in a hurry to reach a conclusion just yet.
Since he was already here, staying a few more days wouldn't hurt... If he really found nothing, he would just change directions and keep looking. But before leaving, he planned to see the festival through.
It wasn't that he had any interest in the God of Light, but rather that large-scale religious ceremonies were the easiest places to tamper with. He didn't want to be halfway through a flight only to see a blood-red pillar of light rise up behind him.
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