txolops Chapter 212 The 8 Major Cities
Chapter 212 The 8 Major Cities
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in fact.
Before deciding to come down and investigate, Li Ping had already scanned the sled and the huge canine beasts below with his divine sense, but he did not sense a trace of spiritual power.
Clearly, neither the canine beasts nor the creatures inside the sled were ordinary beings.
Whoosh!
Li Ping stowed the flying boat and landed on the sled with Xiao Yunzhi.
This sled-like object was about ten feet wide, one and a half feet long, and about eight feet high. It was completely enclosed, with only a crystal window at the front and back offering a view of the outside.
Although it's called a sled, it's actually more like an enclosed carriage.
The two landed on the roof of the carriage, and without making any attempt to conceal their presence, they quickly alerted the people inside the carriage.
After a syllable whose meaning was unclear, the dozens of canine beasts, along with the carriage, slowly came to a stop.
Then, with a 'click,' the side door of the carriage was pulled open, and four figures wrapped in thick coats emerged from inside.
They looked up and saw Li Ping and his companion standing on the roof of the carriage. They noticed that the two men were dressed in thin clothes and looked very elegant.
The four men all showed reverence and quickly bowed. The one who seemed to be the leader nervously said a few words, then stood with his hands clasped, waiting for Li Ping and the other man's instructions.
Clearly, they had seen cultivators before and knew that cultivators possessed the ability to be impervious to heat and cold.
The temperature outside the carriage was much lower than inside, and within moments, the four of them couldn't help but start shivering.
Unfortunately, Li Ping couldn't understand a word the other party said.
We can't understand each other's language; it's like talking to a brick wall!
Just as Li Ping was feeling down, Xiao Yunzhi, who was standing next to him, spoke up and started talking to him.
Clearly, Xiao Yunzhi understood the other person's language.
After a conversation, Xiao Yunzhi got the answer she wanted. She casually tossed a low-grade spirit stone, which landed in the hand of the man who appeared to be the leader.
He then pulled Li Ping away, ignoring the other party's profuse thanks.
……
Standing on the flying boat, Xiao Yunzhi explained to Li Ping, "Brother Yan, the person just now was speaking an ancient language. I usually like to study ancient books, and I happened to have learned this language, which is why I could understand it."
Li Ping nodded slightly. He had guessed this point when Xiao Yunzhi mentioned the origin of the "Three Yin God-Slaying Sword".
"Brother Yan, based on what that person said, and my own deductions, I'm now quite confident in determining our location," Xiao Yunzhi said with a smile. "We've probably been teleported to the far north."
"The far north?" Li Ping couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.
He never expected that he would end up in this place.
Speaking of which, he does have some connection with the far north. For example, his third-tier puppet crafting skills came from a sect called "Tianqiao Sect" in the far north.
The divine consciousness technique he practiced, "The Divine Art of Ten Thousand Spirits," also came from the Tianqiao Sect.
However, the secret technique he obtained was only the incomplete first level.
At the time, he was thinking that he would definitely find a way to collect the last five floors if he had the chance, but he never expected that he would arrive in the far north through such a coincidence.
"But according to Yu Menghan, the Tianqiao Sect has been wiped out because it provoked a great enemy. I'm afraid it won't be that easy for me to obtain the complete cultivation technique," Li Ping thought to himself.
"Brother Yan, Yunzhi doesn't know much about the far north either, only a general idea from ancient books." Xiao Yunzhi said softly, "Fortunately, I just learned from that mortal that there is a human market town about several hundred miles away. We might be able to get more detailed information if we go there."
Li Ping nodded: "The market? Okay, let's go there then."
Whoosh!
With a surge of divine sense, the flying boat beneath his feet transformed into a streak of light and shot towards the direction Xiao Yunzhi pointed, disappearing into the horizon in an instant.
Half an hour later, the flying boat arrived at the market town that Xiao Yunzhi had inquired about.
This market town is located in a valley formed by several tall icebergs.
These towering icebergs formed a natural barrier for the market, protecting it from fierce winds and snowstorms.
As Li Ping piloted his flying boat over the iceberg, a city covering dozens of miles, shrouded in a second-order magic array, came into view.
Near the second-order magic array, there were also a considerable number of first-order magic arrays, covering a total area of nearly a hundred miles.
When the gaze fell upon the magic array, all that could be seen were streets, alleys, houses, and vast fields. Some of these fields were planted with spirit rice, while others were planted with ordinary rice.
With the magic array regulating the temperature, ordinary people can also work hard and recuperate in this icy and snowy place.
This is the power of cultivators.
Otherwise, given the harsh environment of the far north, it would be impossible for ordinary people to survive here. Even if they could withstand the low temperatures, they would not be able to obtain enough food.
Cultivators transformed the environment, creating a paradise where mortals could live happily.
Of course, this is conditional, namely, it must be in a place with spiritual veins.
The grasslands and deserts to the north of the Western Wilderness are such that cultivators cannot stay there for long because there are no well-formed spiritual veins, and ordinary people can only look on with envy.
The far north, however, has an even harsher environment.
However, because of the existence of spiritual veins, and with the protection of the arrays built by cultivators, mortals can actually thrive by relying on these spiritual veins.
This market only has second-tier spiritual veins, and the strongest cultivators here are only at the Foundation Establishment stage, so Li Ping naturally doesn't take it to heart.
……
The two landed at the entrance of the market.
Li Ping glanced at the four market guards and released a trace of Foundation Establishment stage pressure.
The four market guards, sensing the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator emanating from him, were immediately alarmed and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Senior! Welcome to Tiangu Market!"
Li Ping nodded slightly. On the way there, he had already learned the common language of the far north from Xiao Yunzhi.
"We need to go into the market to gather information. Now open the formation and let us in!" Li Ping said calmly.
Generally speaking, markets and neighborhoods would carefully investigate the origins of outsiders and issue them identity cards.
But at this moment, these guards clearly didn't dare treat the two Foundation Establishment stage seniors that way. Hearing Li Ping's order, they quickly nodded: "Yes, seniors, please come in!"
Li Ping and Xiao Yunzhi walked into the market together.
Tian Gu Market, though called a market, is actually more like a town built by cultivators to protect mortals. Most of the people coming and going in the city are mortals, with very few cultivators.
Li Ping pointed to a luxurious-looking restaurant on the street corner: "Let's go, let's go there and wait for the owner!"
The two entered the restaurant, ordered a table of local specialty spiritual food, and then ate while waiting.
Two unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivators entered the market. Even if the owner of the market was in seclusion at the moment, he would definitely choose to come out and find out their intentions.
Sure enough, they didn't have to wait long.
A gaunt old man with white hair hurriedly arrived at their private room, led by a waiter.
The gaunt old man scanned Li Ping and the other man with his divine sense, and a look of shock immediately appeared on his face.
He was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stage, while the two unfamiliar cultivators in front of him, the ordinary-looking man was a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the middle stage, and the beautiful female cultivator was a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the late stage. How could this not surprise him!
"My name is Ma Fangshan, and I am in charge of this market. May I ask how you two are addressed?" Ma Fangshan was slightly reserved in front of the two men.
Li Ping stood up and smiled, saying, "So it's Fellow Daoist Ma. My surname is Yan, and this is my younger sister. Please have a seat, Fellow Daoist Ma. We are new to your place and have some questions we would like to ask you."
Ma Fangshan was surprised that Li Ping, who was in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, was actually the one in control between the two, while the female cultivator in the late stage of Foundation Establishment seemed to be completely obedient to him.
His expression remained impassive as he sat down as instructed, smiling as he said, "Fellow Daoist Yan, please feel free to ask me anything. I will answer to the best of my knowledge."
Li Ping nodded and immediately inquired about the situation in this far north.
Upon hearing Li Ping's inquiry, Ma Fangshan glanced at him again, guessing that he must be an outsider cultivator.
However, in the far north, human forces are not strong, so human cultivators have to stick together for warmth. Ma Fangshan was actually happy to see the two new Foundation Establishment cultivators stay.
He immediately recounted all that he knew about the far north.
Li Ping listened and nodded, occasionally interjecting with a few questions.
Half a day later, he finally managed to get a fairly good understanding of the situation in the far north from the Mafang Pass.
The far north is much larger than the western wilderness.
The east, west, and north sides are all oceans, while the south side is grassland and desert.
In reality, the grasslands north of the Western Wilderness are only a corner of the western part of the grasslands; the true grassland deserts stretch across the entire continent.
However, due to the extremely harsh environment and barren spiritual lands, the number and quality of human cultivators cannot compare with those of the Western Wilderness cultivation world.
On the contrary, those alien races, who do not need to rely on spiritual veins to cultivate and are naturally adapted to the environment of the far north, thrive in this place.
Even according to Asahiyama's description.
Legend has it that in the far-off North Sea, there lives a fourth-tier great demon!
This great demon regarded the far north as its territory and all the creatures in its territory as its food.
Fortunately, this fourth-tier demon is in a deep slumber year-round, and when it does wake up, it rarely comes ashore, so it is not actually a great threat.
The real threat to humanity still comes from those other races.
For example, barbarians, who are cannibalistic, are the mortal enemies of humankind.
Human cultivators who have reached the Core Formation stage have established an extremely rigorous organizational structure in order to fight against other races.
First, the far north was divided into eight major cities, with the eight third-tier spiritual veins forming the core. Within the jurisdiction of these eight major cities, the second-tier and first-tier spiritual veins were assigned to Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, who were all under the jurisdiction of their respective major cities.
In the event of war, the main city has the authority to forcibly conscript all of their cultivators, and other main cities will also provide full support.
It is precisely through the mutual trust and support among the eight major cities that humanity has been able to carve out a space for survival in this far north.